Digimon A Reloaded Adventure
by EmperorDraco7
Summary: As hostile Digimon begin appearing in the Real World, a series of unpredictable events pits the Digidestinded, both old and new, against a new and terrible threat. Can their joint forces prevail against the new enemy? Taiora, Mimato, Kenyako and another pairing.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of the characters from Adventure/02/Tri but if I did then Adventure 02 and Adventure Tri would've had things done a lot better, there were things I did like from both series but others not so much. This is the second time I had to rewrite the whole story, one reason being because I was stumped on how to continue it and I again didn't like how I did it so hopefully I'll be able to give it a proper introduction.**

 **Fair warning, if you dislike or hate the pairings and prefer any of the others from Adventure/02/Tri then please leave at once. No offence to those who support the other pairings from the Adventure universe, if you are offended then I apologize completely.**

 **Digimon A Reloaded Adventure**

 **By EmperorDraco7 and co-written by LilyNadesico**

The Digidestined have finally returned to Japan after traveling around the world to destroy the Control Spires and return the wild Digimon back to the Digital World. Each one of them deserved to relax despite the fact that they still need to deal with Arukenimon, Mummymon and whoever they were working. However, they all knew that it was only a matter of time before she struck again and they needed to be ready for her if that were to happen.

"Never fear Tokyo, Davis has returned!"

"I should've brought a Russian souvenir, Yuri…" muttered Yolei Inoue, proceeding with raising her hands into the air as she and Sora Takenouchi were still a bit bummed over the fact they never got to have their meal with Yuri, Anna and Sonya. "Give me a bowl of borscht and a hot pirozhki!"

"Which way should we turn?" Davis Motomiya asked, although he noticed that Yolei was still not getting over the fact they had to return home before she could get to know Yuri better, even Sora felt sad about it and wished they had gotten some time to spend with the cute Russian boy before they had to get back. "Now that I think of it, what exactly are you talking about Yolei?"

As soon as Davis asked that question, Yolei snapped back into reality and a small blush crept onto her cheeks. "Huh?" she muttered, becoming a bit flustered at this very moment. "Well I do miss all the friends we made, maybe I'm just hungry."

"Yeah."

"I guess I'll get some dinner at home" commented Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, though his younger sister Kari Kamiya still had a look of concern on her face even though they've managed to successfully send the wild Digimon back to the Digital World where they belonged.

"But…" she began before stopping herself, getting her older brother's attention as she remembered what Azulongmon told her and the rest of the newer Digidestinded about the possibility of someone else worse than Arukennimon and Mummymon out there following their successful mission in protecting the last Destiny Stone. "I know something really bad's about to happen."

"I'll say" Takeru "T.K." Takaishi replied with a slight know, understanding how Kari was feeling since they knew all too well that things would always get much worse before they finally get better. "Arukennimon's way too evil to just give up."

"That's for sure" added Tai, knowing it was a matter of time before she and possibly Mummymon decided to strike again so the group needed to be ready in case the two do go through with whatever plan they had next.

"Well Doctors say that on average, the youth of today are overworked and underpaid and you gotta admit I'm way above average" began Davis, although none of the other Chosen Children had any idea on what he was talking about which made him somewhat confused. "What's with you? Don't you guys watch the news on television?"

"Sure..." answered Tai, still a bit dumbfounded at the remark Davis previously made. "And sometimes we you were on TV so we could press the mute button."

"Right, I could be a star."

Davis blushed, scratching his nose with a somewhat bashful look and Yolei shook her head as she knew that was Davis for them. "That's what I call humble" she commented sarcastically, causing the group to laugh a bit much to his slight dismay.

"What's so funny? I deserve my own TV show!" he protested though he suddenly remembered something important and his attention turned towards Yamato "Matt" Ishida, who was standing next to Sora. "Hey Matt, I have something to give you" he took out a small envelope and gave it to Matt.

With a hint of curiosity, the older blonde-haired Digidestinded accepted it and looked at the front; he knew who it was from as he can recognize the hand-writing. "It's from Mimi isn't it?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I can tell by the hand-writing and besides, whom else do we know who had moved to America" replied Matt with a smile before opening the envelope and started reading the letter that was inside. His eyes widened in disbelief.

"What is it, Matt?" asked Tai, noticing the look on his friend's face. "Is there something wrong?"

"No…. Nothing's wrong" he answered and a light smile soon formed. "Mimi's coming back to Japan via a plane belonging to Michael's father, they should be arriving at the airport in Narita shortly and she's going to be spending the holidays with her cousin in Kyoto."

"Well, that's news to me." Sora answered. "Mimi never told me about a cousin she had in Kyoto. Guess it never really came up, right?"

"In any case, it will be great to see Mimi once again." Matt suggested. "Are you anxious to see her as well, Sora?"

The orange-haired Digidestined of Love nodded. "Yes, I agree with you on that." she answered. "I can't wait to see Mimi again!"

"Me neither!" Yolei exclaimed. "A reunion of all Digidestined just wouldn't feel complete without her!"

"It's time for me to head home now" said Ken Ichijouji, taking a look at his clock, then bowing down briefly and taking his leave with Wormmon in his arms.

"See you" said Davis as he saw the former Digimon Emperor taking his leave, he then mentally kicked himself in the back of the head. "I always forget that Ken lives on the other side of the river."

"Ken sure has turned things around for himself" Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi commented, glad that he was now a better person following the defeat of Kimeramon at the hands of Magnamon in the Digital World. "It's great."

Yolei paid no heed to what Izzy said as she was too busy watching Ken, she was starting to feel bad for him and knew that it wouldn't be right for him to return to Tamachi by himself, especially when it was getting late. "Guys, I think it would be best for me to keep him company and make sure he gets back safely." She told the others before running after Ken with Hawkmon flying next to her.

"Okay, I think it's a good idea, Yolei." Hawkmon answered. "You never know what's going to happen with the recent events..."

"Yeah... Ken! Wait up, Ken!" Yolei and Hawkmon quickly caught up with the former Digimon Emperor. Ken and Wormmon looked at Yolei in surprise as she stopped to catch her breath. "Phew... you sure are pretty fast!"

"Oh... sorry, Yolei, is anything the matter?" Ken asked, turning to her as she straightened herself and smiled.

"I was just thinking I could walk you home, if it's okay with you, of course!" Yolei answered with a cheerful smile.

Ken seemed surprised for a moment and looked at Wormmon as if asking him for advice. The caterpillar-like Digimon looked like he was taken off guard for a second, but he decided it would be good for Ken to spend some time with a girl who seemed to like and appreciate it well enough, so he gave his human partner a wink and a nod.

"Of course it's okay, Yolei." Ken said with a tentative smile. "But... are you sure you should take your time to accompany me? Aren't you going to be late at home?"

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Yolei answered cheerfully. "I just need to give them a call and tell them I'll be back later then usual. It's no problem, really! Besides, it's a little sad to walk home all on your own!"

"Well... in that case, okay... I will be happy if you came with me." Ken answered at last, and Yolei smiled happily as the two of them along with a satisfied Wormmon began walking back to Ken's home...

* * *

"Hey, mom. I'm home!"

T.K. had just returned to his home, slowly starting to get his boots off with Patamon on his head when his mother came to see that he returned and like with all mothers, she was worried sick about him and Matt. "T.K., you're back!" said Nancy Takaishi with relief filling her entire body upon coming out of the living room and seeing that both her youngest son and Patamon were safe and sound. "Oh thank heavens you're okay."

"Yeah, sorry I was out for so long, mom. I really meant to give you a call."

"I've been watching special TV news reports saying monsters were on the loose all over the world" began Nancy, remembering full well that a similar event took place three years ago even after VenomMyotismon was defeated. "Are the monsters they're all talking about the Digimon?"

"Uh, yeah…"

Hearing her son's answer made Nancy even more worried than ever. "So do you have something to do with all this?" she asked, praying that it wasn't the case and hopefully Matt was okay too.

"Yeah, I gotta admit I'm involved in what's been happening… he admitted, his head lowered the whole time though he smiled as he stopped back up to look at her. "But you don't have to worry, mom. It's all over now."

"Great, what a relief" said Nancy with a smile on her face as she watched as T.K. was about to head to his room for some much needed rest when something clicked in her mind. "Oh there is one other thing that happened that still has me concerned. I was out eating lunch when I met this very strange fellow."

Hearing that made T.K. stop dead in his tracks, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. "W-What was that mom?" he asked, wondering who this strange fellow was.

"He spoke about odd things, he said to me what happened three years ago isn't finished yet…" she began, reflecting on her meeting with a gray-skinned, dark-haired man in a purple trench coat before Matt's concert took place and it quickly got T.K.'s attention immediately. "I know you may not believe this but this was the same exact guy who three years ago was asking me all about the Highton View Terrence Incident. I got the feeling from what he said that he had something to do with all the stuff that's going on"

"So this man you met, was he a human being?"

"What?" asked Nancy, wondering what's gotten into her son for asking her such a question regarding the man she met on the day she also spoke with Davis' father. "What do you mean a human being?"

"Huh? Well of course he was a human, I was just playing around" he immediately corrected himself, not wanting to give his mom the wrong idea though he started to wonder more about the man whom she met which made him suspect there might be more to what she learned than she thought. _There's no way it could've been Mummymon or could it?_

* * *

As this was going on, Davis and Veemon returned home as well though unlike Nancy, neither Davis' mom nor his sister Jun were aware that he had a Digimon with him so he needed to be careful when sneaking Veemon to his room… even more so due to his mom being in the kitchen cooking something "Hey mom, what's for dinner?" he asked his mother out curiosity.

"Doofus, you're back!" began Jun, glad to see that her brother was okay although Veemon was doing his best to sneak past without being noticed by her, he knew Davis would keep her preoccupied long enough for that to happen. "Where were you, Saturn?"

"That's for me to know, not you."

Davis felt a bit annoyed with her question but he was glad that she had been doing alright while he was gone and made his way to his room. "Those goggles are messing with your brain" she retorted even though Davis didn't bother with a response and she returned her glance towards the TV as the new was being shown regarding the wild Digimon that appeared all around the world.

" _Reports indicate that approximately 4pm local time, the monsters that suddenly appeared all over the world just as suddenly disappeared without a trace…"_ began the new reporter, somewhat dumbfounded by the fact that the monsters that were appearing had suddenly disappeared, not that he was complaining since it's about time that they went back to wherever they came from. _"Details are still unknown."_

Although Jun was glad that there wouldn't be anymore monsters out there causing trouble all over the globe, she was actually still fuming over what happened at the night of Matt's Concert and turned her eyes towards the ticket that she had on the table from the looks of it, the ticket in question was ripped in half at some point "That jerk, I can't believe he picked her instead of me!"

* * *

In the meantime, Ken and Yolei had just arrived at the Ichijouji resident just as it was getting late and the former Digimon Emperor know how worried sick his mother must be feeling at this very moment. "Hello" he called out just as his mother came out to her relief that her only son had finally returned home safely.

"Ken, where have you been?" she asked, having feared that he disappeared again like the last two times he did and how she'd never be able to forgive herself if anything dreadful happened to him as neither she nor her husband were able to get over the death of their older son Sam all those years ago.

"I was just hanging out with a few of my friends" answered Ken, wanting to reassure his mother that everything was okay even more so since he was glad that she's alright herself. "Yolei was kind enough to escort me home, I'm really grateful to her for doing so."

"I was getting a little worried, I'm glad you're home safe and sound" she had a smile of relief on her face, and then turned to glance at Yolei. "And thank you for being so kind as to bring my son home."

"Oh, it was no big deal, ma'am." Yolei answered with a bright smile. "After all, Ken and I are good friends, and it felt right to do him a little favor."

"You have my thanks regardless. It is good to see that Ken has such good friends." Mrs. Ichijouji answered.

As this was happening, Wormmon was climbing up the walls of the apartment in order to enter Ken's room via the window. "I know that you're a responsible young man but next time call me if you're running late" Ken's mother informed her son.

"I will, I promise."

"You must be hungry" began Ken's mother, knowing that he must be starving after being out for this long even if it was to spend time with his friends. "I made some Tuna Casserole for dinner, can I get you some?"

"Sounds great but I'm too preoccupied to eat right now, maybe later" he told her as he entered his room and closed the door behind him with a smile on his face. "Thanks."

As soon as he closed the door to his room, Wormmon managed to reach the balcony and Ken opened the glass doors to allow his Digimon partner to enter. "Hey" he said to his friend as he picked the worm-like Digimon up.

"Why can't I take the elevator like everyone else?" asked Wormmon, though just as Ken was about to answer, he noticed something moving swiftly, so fast that he wasn't able to get a proper glimpse of it which made the raven-haired young man worried since it could be Arukennimon, Mummymon or a Control Spire Digimon. "Ken what's the matter, you look angry?"

"Nothing, I thought I saw something" Ken reassured Wormmon, even though he secretly hoped it was nothing as he realized that whatever it was that swooped past them wasn't good news and he may need to inform the others about it tomorrow morning when they all meet up at Izzy's house. _Arukennimon?_

* * *

Cody Hida and his grandfather Chikara Hida were in deep meditation as they prepared themselves for what seemed to be a Japanese-style memorial for Cody's late father Hiroki Hida… while they prayed, there was something that was on the young Digidestinded's mind as of lately regarding his father. "Do you know why dad died, grandpa?" he asked his grandfather, catching the older man by surprise.

"What's this all of a sudden?"

"I just wanna know…" said Cody with a frown on his face, causing Chikara to give a small sigh before turning his attention towards the photograph of Cody's father.

"Your father was a respected policeman; he was on a special assignment guarding a government official. Someone tried to shoot this official and your father saved him, but he died in the line of duty" he explained to Cody, though he still couldn't understand why he would ask the question in the first place. "Why do you ask, Cody? You heard this before."

Cody looked down, he knew that his grandfather was right about him having heard the story before but there was actually more to why he asked the question. "The reason I asked you is because lately I've been thinking about how dad sacrificed his own life so that someone else could live" he spoke, causing Chikara to become even more concerned than ever.

* * *

At the Inoue Residence, Yolei was enjoying her dinner and although it wasn't like the pirozhki and borscht that she, Sora, Hawkmon and Biyomon would've had with Yuri, Sonya and Anna had Gennai's Russian counterpart Illya not arrived to send the two Japanese female Digidestinded to help at Siberia, she couldn't complain at all since she always did enjoy a home cooked meal. "Mmmm, there's nothing like home cooking" she declared with a smile on her face upon finishing her meal.

It was then that Yolei's older sister Chizuru called out to her. "Yolei, now that you're finished, go down to the store and tell dad to come eat" she informed the purple-haired as she, their sister Momoe and their brother Mantarou were glad to see that she made it back home safe and sound.

"I'm on it!"

Yolei quickly ran over to the shop to inform her father what Chizuru had sent her to do and immediately opened the door a bit in order to do so. "Dad, it's time for dinner!" she informed him, glad that nothing crazy happened in Japan while she and the others were busy dealing with the wild Digimon and the Control Spires around the world.

"Okay!" he replied to his daughter and she immediately closed the door before stretching her arms a bit since it's about time that she and the others got some time to relax before Arukennimon and Mummymon eventually decided to make their next move.

"It's so peaceful here" she said to herself, feeling it was time for her to call it a night soon since it's clear that she was starting to get a bit tired and was looking forward to speaking with Mimi again in person as she's actually curious on meeting the cousin whom the brown-haired girl would be spending the remaining holidays with the next day. "It's hard to believe what happened earlier."

* * *

"So what are you gonna do?" Tai asked of his younger sister Kari, watching as she was sitting at the desk next to their bunk bed thinking about they were to do now that the wild Digimon had been returned to the Digital World.

"I don't know…"

Tai frowned, understanding how his sister must be feeling as this was similar he and his team felt when they started out as Digidestinded three years ago. "Do T.K. or any of the new kids know what you're up against?" he asked of her, while it was good that Mimi would be coming back to Japan and staying there for a little longer due to staying with .her cousin for the holidays but they still had a feeling something bad would happen.

Kari shook her head slowly. "I don't think so" she replied simply, part of her wished they could go back to the Digital World to look for Gatomon's missing Tail Ring again though at this point, they couldn't risk it with Arukennimon and Mummymon still on the loose.

"You may have broken some Dark Rings, a couple of Dark Spirals but your group has gotta be prepared for what you know is coming next."

The brown-haired girl didn't need to be reminded, especially when it came to the Dark Rings and Dark Spirals that Ken once used to enslave Digimon. "Well, we've destroyed Control Spire Digimon, how about that?" she said, although she still kinda felt bad for BlackWarGreymon despite him having tried to destroy the Destiny Stones which would've destroyed the balance of the Digital World as not only was he different from the other Control Spire Digimon, she hoped that one day he would find the answers that he was looking for.

"I know they look real Digimon and fought like them too but they weren't real, they don't have hearts you know" added Agumon, he should know as his only experience with a Control Spire Digimon was his encounter with BlackWarGreymon before he started destroying the Destiny Stones and he could still remember the conversation he had with the powerful Digimon.

"Agumon's right" said Tai with his arms crossed and the serious expression still on his face as he could only hope that Davis and the others would be ready to one day fight actual evil Digimon to save innocent lives even if it meant to kill those Digimon in order to save said lives. "Can these new kids make the tough decisions we made?"

"We're just kids, Tai."

"You're not just kids, you're Digidestinded" he reminded her, although she and T.K. were part of the original group four years ago, they're main role was now as part of the new Generation since their Digivices were the only ones that were upgraded into the D-3s that Davis and the others had in their possession along with gaining the ability to Armor Digivolve their Digimon alongside them.

"I know…" said Kari with a sigh, still in deep reflection over the events that transpired up till this point and wondered what was going to happen next.

Tai remained silent for all but a few seconds and knew that the next thing he needed to say might be shocking though he had to tell her. "Soon you'll have to fight real Digimon and you're gonna have to win or innocent people will get hurt" he should know, Kari and even T.K. were already well aware of that fact yet he hoped Davis and the others would understand.

Agumon silently nodded in agreement with his human partner. "Arukennimon and Mummymon are still a problem here in the Real World" reminded Gatomon, knowing that even with their ability to Digivolve past the Champion level restored thanks to the power from one of Azulongmon's twelve DigiCores, it's still not going to be easy to stop Arukennimon or Mummymon once they strike again.

"And your group's gotta be ready" concluded Tai, hoping that Kari would use this time before bed to take in what he was trying to tell her. "The whole world is counting on you."

* * *

Back at Ken's apartment, the former Digimon Emperor was getting ready to call it a night and wanted to let his mother know he was preparing for bed. "Good night, mom" he told his mother, having the door to his parents' bedroom open enough to tell her.

"Tomorrow's Saturday so I'll let you sleep in, okay?"

"Thanks" he replied with a smile before slowly closing the door and headed back towards his room in order to get some sleep and prepare for the next day, thinking that there was still a lot of work to do, and he and Wormmon needed to come prepared.

Once Ken was in his pajamas, he immediately got to bed and yet he still couldn't get over the fact he saw something zipping past him and Wormmon not too long ago. "Good night, Wormmon" he told his Digimon partner.

"Good night, Ken."

 _I know I really did see something_ Ken thought to himself with a frown, making him wonder if it really was Arukennimon. On the other hand, it couldn't have been her since she never moved that fast despite being able to move freely between the Real World and the Digital World. "Just what was that shadow?"

"Ken…" he heard Wormmon saying his name and he looked to see his partner looking a bit worried for him when he asked about the shadow he previously saw earlier. "What were you saying?"

"It's really not important, Wormmon" he replied to Wormmon, turning his glance towards the worm-like Digimon since it was getting late and they needed to be well alert for tomorrow, hopefully without anymore unexpected surprises coming their way. "I think that we both better get some sleep."

Wormmon knew not to argue and started to climb back down, finding that he was indeed getting a bit sleepy. "Even my antenna are drooping, good night Ken." he spoke, allowing the raven-haired male human to close his eyes.

"Good night, friend."

* * *

 _Ken found himself in some kind of dream where he was in the Digital World, younger than he was than when he eventually became the Digimon Emperor and both he and Wormmon were helping a spikey-haired young man wearing a purple short-sleeved shirt, greenish pants and white gloves against some kind of powerful Digimon._

 _It was a massive Digimon that looked like two creatures fused into one - its main body was bipedal, thin and wiry, covered in leathery dark grey skin with robust legs ending in clawed feet, four overlong arms and a bestial, predatory face surrounded by a short dark blue mane. A long curved horn jutted out of its nose, and its eyes were like those of a wolf. A strange silhouette that seemed to be made of solid light was wrapped around the creature's back, imitating its form, and a pair of massive cannons similar to Machinedramon's was mounted on its back. Despite its fearsome appearence, it seemed to have been defeated by the joint efforts of Ken, the other boy and their Digimon, as it was crumbling into strings of data._

" _Wow, Ken we did it!" cheered Wormmon as the defeated evil Digimon exploded into millions of pieces as a sandstorm was already brewing their way by the time they emerged victorious and yet their victory was short-lived as Ken soon bore witness to several small black spheres that quickly came their way._

" _Hey, get down!" yelled Ken, pushing the boy out of the way just as one of the tiny black spheres impaled itself into the back of the raven-haired young man's neck and went deeper inside without any opened wound or gash whatsoever, causing him to cry out in pain. "Aaah!"_

* * *

Ken's eyes opened wide and he bolt up, trying to catch his breath as Wormmon saw that his partner was now awake. "You look like you saw a ghost" he said with a hint of concern in his voice upon witnessing the expression the human made. "You alright?"

"It was a dream…" he realized, the moment he saw that he was back in his room and still in bed since there's no way he would be in the Digital World all of a sudden.

"More like a really bad nightmare."

Turning his attention towards Wormmon, Ken was starting to wonder if what he had was actually a dream or not. "I have a question for you…" he spoke, hoping that he could get at least a few answers over what happened yet he was still somewhat worried ever since experiencing that while trying to get some rest. "Did we travel together about two years ago? We both went into the DigiWorld Desert didn't we?"

"Don't' you remember?"

Ken frowned. "No, not really" he replied to Wormmon, although the events in that dream did feel somewhat familiar to him and he had no idea as to why or how it was even possible. "Do you remember if I hurt my neck?"

Hearing that made Wormmon lower his head, having hoped he wouldn't have to remember how Ken got hurt protecting his friend. "Like it was yesterday, you were hurting so much and I had no idea what was wrong with you" he sadly answered Ken's question. "It was just awful."

Ken looked down at the sheets of his bed, slowly taking in what his partner was telling him. "It's like I have amnesia and I can't even recall what happened then" he said still frowning.

"It's probably for the best" Wormmon tried to reassure him, although it made Ken even more curious as to what transpired following his getting hurt because he knew something occurred and yet didn't have a clue on what or so he thought.

"Right after I got hurt, what happened next?"

"Well after that, I took care of you, it took you three weeks to heal and then you left me and returned to the Real World" answered Wormmon as that was about all he could tell Ken though it made him frown even more than ever.

"And that's all of it?" Ken asked of his partner, still surprised that Wormmon was able to remember what transpired while he himself could not though he's glad the worm-like Digimon told him everything he knew following that fateful event.

"So you're just starting to remember?" wondered Wormmon, noticing his human partner looking away after he asked that question.

"No, all my memories are fuzzy like something's interrupting them" he replied, wishing he was starting to remember but sadly that wasn't the case at all though it made him suspect the incident that led to him being hurt might've been the reason he eventually turned into the Digimon Emperor. "But I know… something happened to me that day…"

* * *

Little did Ken and Wormmon know, they were being watched from outside by two shadowed silhouettes the entire time, both of which standing on the roof of a nearby building behind the full moon. "I know he's in there" began one of the silhouettes, speaking in what appeared to be a male voice as it resembled what looked like a skeleton.

"Be patient, we're in no hurry" responded the other silhouette, the one that had a slender feminine look to it and a somewhat seductive voice to coincide with it.

"Well, we better report that we've pinpointed his location" with that being said, both silhouettes disappeared without a trace.

* * *

"Well... looks like things are taking a turn for the strange right now... and I'm not really liking where this is going." Gennai said to himself. In Gennai's sanctum, the protector of the Digital World was taking a look at all the data he had gathered from the emerging of Digimon all over the Real World. He was worried. What he had discovered until then was unexpected, and he had no idea what was going to happen next... he just knew that the Digidestined were going to have to be ready for everything.

"These strange phenomenon are pretty worrying... bad enough that those two, Arukenimon and Mummymon, are still around, doing some pretty shady things... but there are also Dragomon and these strange portal opening up all over the world, as well as that BlackWarGreymon acting as a wild card. I wonder who's behind all of this... and if there really is just one mastermind behind all of this. For all we know, there could be several parties conspiring against us... Hm? What was that?"

Gennai turned around the moment he thought he heard something behind him. "Who's there?" he asked, becoming suspicious as it's clear whoever made that sound obviously wasn't Azulongmon or even his friend Centarumon which made him frown even more than ever and surely enough he found himself face to face with a shadowed Digimon whom he never seen before.

It was a small dragon-like Digimon covered in white metallic scales all over, its head sporting three razor-sharp horns coming out of its sides and snout, with yellow piercing eyes and a torn crimson cloak hanging from its shoulders. It walked on all fours, each paw ending with three fingers armed with long metallic claws, and its tail was composed of metallic sections that rustled against each other at every movement, ending in a short black spike.

The strange dragon Digimon walked in front of Gennai and bowed his head as a sign of respect before introducing himself. "I call myself… Hackmon." he stated in a somewhat screeching voice, like metal rubbing upon metal.

"Hackmon?" Gennai repeated in surprise. "This is the first time I have heard of you. You are not from this Digital World, am I correct?"

"Yes, I am neither friend nor foe" he spoke to Gennai, noticing the distrust the young monk had towards him but couldn't blame the Agent for feeling that way given he was a Digimon which happened to have shown up from out of the blue. "I am a messenger for Homeostasis."

The name suddenly caught Gennai by surprise, starting to suspect something familiar about the name but couldn't place his finger on it. "Homeostasis?" he asked, placing a finger on his chin in deep thought about the being that the mysterious Digimon that stood before him mentioned. "I think I heard the name before… though it had been quite sometime since it was ever brought up."

"Correct, Homeostasis, as you already know, is the one who desires stability given your status in aiding to keep the balance between light and darkness" Hackmon replied with a slight nod although it wasn't really the reason for why he had come before the last surviving Agent at all since there were far more dire matters to discuss. "However, there is something that you must become aware of and it would be wise to inform this to the Digidestinded and Lord Azulongmon as well because what I'm about to tell you may help ensure the survival of both worlds."

"Of course. It is my job to look after the safety of both worlds." Gennai answered readily. "Tell me, Hackmon, what is it that worries you so much?"

"What I am about to tell you will probably be shocking. Seven powerful evil Digimon, collectively known as the Seven Great Demon Lords, are plotting to take over both worlds and enslave humans and Digimon to their will. We need your cooperation and that of Lord Azulongmon and the Digidestinded to stop their rampage." explained Hackmon as he knew that the ancient evil would do whatever it took to accomplish their goal of conquering both worlds and how even Arukennimon and Mummymon were as of now the least of their problems due to something far more sinister about to make their move the next day. "Unfortunately… "he" has the means of them truly becoming unstoppable and we cannot allow them to have him... otherwise it would mean the end of everything."

"Huh, what do you mean "he" has the means of making them unstoppable?" asked Gennai in disbelief, still finding it hard to believe everything that the unknown Digimon was telling him though if the ancient evil that the original Digidestinded defeated long ago had indeed returned to resume their dark designs then it would make saving both worlds more difficult than ever since Tai and the others already had enough to worry about as it is. "Who exactly are you talking about?"

"The one whom I am referring to is the Digidestinded of Kindness and former Digimon Emperor, the boy known as Ken Ichijouji" answered Hackmon, his face still showing an emotionless expression despite being barely seen by the monk and carefully thought about the next thing he was going to reveal. "Inside his body lies something even he is not aware of at this very moment and should it fall into their hands, both worlds shall be led down a path of destruction."

Gennai felt his blood run cold at this revelation, and he resolved to do whatever it took to stop the Seven Great Demon Lords before it was too late. "I... understand, Hackmon. I will immediately start researching and seeing if I can find anything at all on these Demon Lords." Gennai answered. "What you just told me is really worrying..."

"Wait!" said Hackmon as he stopped Gennai from leaving, realizing there was still something else that needed to be revealed to the Agent before he informed everything he learned by far to Azulongmon and eventually the Digidestinded as well. "There's one last thing…"

Hearing Hackmon speak again caused Gennai to turn back towards the mysterious Digimon that still stood within the shadows. "What is it?" he asked, frowning again and all Hackmon did was give a glance towards him since it may end up becoming a far bigger shock than everything else that had been revealed. Nevertheless, he had the right to know….

* * *

The next day, a certain brown-haired girl wearing a green winter coat and hat was a bit nervous as she approached Matt's apartment, she was really worried that he might not have the same feelings for her that she does for him. No, she came back to Japan to see him and the others again and that's what she's going to do, there's no turning back now. "Here goes nothing" she knocked on the door three times and patiently waited for a response. After a minute or two, Matt opened the door and his eyes widened.

"M…Mimi…." He asked, not wanting to believe it and his response was a fierce hug from her while Gabumon watched this happy reunion. "Welcome back…."

"It's good to be back" whispered Mimi Tachikawa, trying hard to hold her tears back while giving him a sincere smile. "How have you been?"

"Well…" he paused while trying to figure out a proper answer to give to her and the smile she had made him happy."I'm okay, was getting ready to meet with the others at Izzy's since he said he wanted to talk to us about something, I guess the trip went well."

"Yes, it was alright I guess" she said to a shrug, then again it was like every other time she visited Odaiba, part of her wished she never moved from her home in Japan as her smile faded and she almost immediately looked away from Matt, causing him to become concerned.

"Is something wrong?"

She felt his hand on her left cheek and her head turned to face him, it took a few seconds before she eventually spoke. "I really missed you and…" she let out a small sigh since she heard about the concert , something she wished she had been there for but at the same time was relieved nobody got hurt. "I wanted to see you again after so long."

"Oh, I see..." said Matt, though he remembered when he and the others first arrived at the Digital World and about how T.K. asked him about her being cute though deep down, he had to admit that his younger brother was right in a way which was why he couldn't believe it when he first learned that she and her family was moving away."I missed you too and I would have gone to New York if there weren't stuff getting in the way and preventing me from doing so. I'm sorry; hopefully I'll find a way to make it up to you."

"Don't worry about it, I forgive you" she replied in a sweet tone, releasing him from her embrace and turning her attention towards Palmon. Standing about as tall as Mimi, the girl had medium-length blond hair tied in a pair of pigtails at both sides of her head and dark brown eyes, and she was dressed in a pink sweater with a light brown turtleneck collar, a black skirt and dark grey thigh-high socks, along with black ankle boots. She had a pleasant and friendly expression on her face, and all in all, she looked like a girl who was easy to geta long with.

"Matt, Palmon and I would like to introduce you to my cousin Kiki Miyazaki" she introduced him to her cousin, glad that she'd be able to spend more time in Odaiba than she did on her previous visits from America. "Kiki, this is Matt and the Digimon with him is Gabumon."

"So you're Mimi's boyfriend" Kiki teased with a light laugh, causing both Matt and Mimi to blush slightly at that remark. "Relax, I'm just teasing but still I never thought I'd meet you in person."

"It's very nice to meet you" Matt took notice towards something next to her. "Who's this guy?"

"Pleased to meet ya, guys! My name is Falcomon!" the creature standing next to Kiki showed up from behind her and waved to Matt in order to greet him. It was a Digimon that looked like a cross between an owl and an hawk, covered in light brown feathers that turned green on his chest and wings, and he had large blue eyes with two long black feathers acting as eyebrows. Each wing ended in three digit-like grey claws, and his feet were black, ending in three talons each. His beak was a bright yellow color, and oddly enough, sported numerous small white teeth.

Kiki started smiling when he asked her. "This is Falcomon, he's my partner."

"Your partner? That means you're a Digidestined like Mimi and me."

"That's right" she replied with a shrug, revealing her Digivice which happened to be the original model that the older Digidestidned had. "When I heard that Mimi was going to be staying with me in Japan for the holidays I was both shocked and happy especially since we hardly get to see each other after she and her family moved to America."

"Yeah, I can imagine that..." Matt stated, understanding how it felt to not see someone you cared about for so long since he and T.K. didn't see much of each other ever since their parents divorced. "I'm glad you two got to meet each other again... though, I never imagined you'd have a Digimon, too. When did you and Falcomon meet?"

"Oh, it's a bit of a long story..." Falcomon stated, rubbing his head with his wing-arm.

* * *

 _Flashback_

* * *

 _It had been only a few days before the fateful Christmas concert when the Digimon first began emerging in the Real World. Kiki had been enjoying the start of the Christmas vacations, and was doing some cleaning up in her room, when she had heard her mom call for her from the entrance door… and when she had come, she saw her mom standing in front of the doorway, holding a large, mysterious egg in her hands – it was the size of an ostrich egg, its shell a light brown color all over._

" _Mom, where did you get that egg?"she asked in wide-eyed wonder._

" _Oh, this?"began Kiki's mother with a light smile forming on her face, all while carefully stroking the egg as she reflected on how it came under her care though she never thought she'd see an egg like this one before since no other egg looked anything like it. "Well I was bringing in the landuary when it came floating down from out of the sky."_

 _This made Kiki even more confused, but she thought back to when she was coming home from school earlier and saw strange lights in the sky... wondering if she had simply been seeing things and started to suspect that it along with the mysterious egg somehow coming to their home were anything but a coincidence. "It came floating out of the sky huh?" she asked her mother, eyeing the egg in question even more than ever. "I don't recall anything like that happening before since normally when eggs fall from the sky they splatter all over the place."_

" _Yeah, I know… I guess this egg is special somehow, huh?" her mother said as she placed the strange egg on the kitchen table. "Perhaps it has something to do with those strange lights in the sky we saw earlier, don't you think so?"_

 _Kiki seemed a little concerned. "Well… if you say so, mom… But if so, then couldn't it be risky to keep it here?"_

 _Suddenly the egg began moving on its on, slowly nearing the edge of the table it was on and Kiki's quick thinking allowed her to catch it before it could hit the ground. "Whoa, that was close"she said to herself with some relief as the egg in question soon started to crack, a sign that it was now on the verge of hatching. "Huh?"_

" _What is that?" her mom asked as the egg continued to shake and crack, and suddenly, it shattered, scattering several shards all over the table as a strange little creature, no larger than a kitten, emerged from it. Kiki and her mom looked at the strange being in wonder – it looked like some sort of strange chick-like spherical bird with brown feathers that turned orange on the face and cheeks, and a long red feather hung behind its back. The strange creature shrugged the eggshell fragments off of itself and took a couple tentative steps, before finally finding its footing and standing in front of Kiki and her mom._

" _Awww, it's so cute!" said Kiki, not sure what it was but she held it close to her as if it were a teddy bear and snuggled up to it which made her mother somewhat surprised to see that her daughter was already becoming really attached to the strange creature._

* * *

 _That day, Kiki spend most of her time staying with that strange creature and trying to understand what it was. She was glad to see that it was fond of Earth food, and indeed it had eaten a lot more than its diminutive size might suggest. She had had fun playing with it, and teaching it all sort of games, and she had found it to be an enjoyable companion. However, in the end, the time for sleep had come, and Kiki had allowed the strange creature to sleep in her own room, with a makeshift bed made from a pillow and a carton box to allow it to sleep comfortably._

 _That night, Kiki's sleep was however filled with strange dreams – she saw a strange island in the middle of an infinite ocean, where all sort of strange creatures lived and thrived. She saw a group of hideous monsters looming over that beautiful place… and a group of young boys and girls about her age, along with a group of strange and colourful creatures of all kinds, all of them looking ready for a battle…_

 _It was then that Kiki heard something which woke her up and she saw next to her the strange creature was a device of some sort, remembering that her cousin Mimi had the same thing with her ever since she returned from Summer Camp. "No way..."she said to herself in slight disbelief, staring at the device that she now had in her possession then back to the creature on the pillow next to hers. "Is this… one of those Digivice things that Mimi had? How… how did it end up on my drawer? And… where is that little guy?" she asked, seeing that the makeshift bed she had made for her new friend was now empty._

" _Oh man, it couldn't have just disappeared..." Kiki was becoming even more worried than ever before as she fantically searched for the mysterious baby creature she was looking after and hoped nothing bad had happened to it, fortunately her windows were closed so it wouldn't be able to get outside or even get lost in the city. "Hey, little guy! Where are you?"_

" _Right here!" a squeaky voice answered, making Kiki jump up in shock and surprise! She turned to where the voice had come from, only to see an odd creature that looked very much like her new friend… but its body was a little sleeker, and its feathers had turned a strange white-orange color that became darker on the tips. It also had a pair of vestigial brown wings, and a pair of stunted legs ending in three tiny talons each, while the face had become a little sleeker, and a small beak pointed forward from it._

" _Hi there, I'm Pinamon."_

 _This made Kiki freak out the moment she saw that the newly transformed creature started to talk, making her wonder if this was some kind of dream she was in. "Wow, a talking thing... oh man, I think I've been studying too hard!" she muttered to herself, truly frightened by Pinamon's appearance as well as its ability to speak._

" _I'm not a thing, I'm a Digital Monster or Digimon for short" explained Pinamon as if trying to calm Kiki down and reassure her that he meant no harm to her. "Your care for me while I was Puwamon allowed me to Digivolve to my In-Training Form."_

 _Kiki didn't know what to say, although she still felt that she was just seeing things because this didn't make any sense at all. "I'm hallucenating!" she cried, hiding her head onto the bed and wished she could wake up from this whole thing._

" _No you're not hallucenating!" began Pinamon, becoming a bit worried for the brown-haired girl that he had befriended with and wanting to assure her that it's no dream. "Besides, I can protect you whenever there's danger."_

 _Kiki stood up and rubbed her forehead, feeling an headache coming. "Okay… okay, so basically… if something were about to happen to me, you would protect me? How, exactly? Not to be cheeky, but… you aren't exactly cutting an impressive figure here! I mean, you don't even reach out to my knee!" she stated incredulously._

 _Pinamon rolled his eyes. He had expected Kiki would be a little hard to convince, and there was no practical way to show it to her. "I know, it's a little hard to believe… and, at the moment, I'm not exactly in a position to show it to you. But believe me, something terrible is going to happen very soon… and when it does, I know you will need my help."_

" _Is… is that so?" Kiki asked, feeling somewhat conflicted about the whole thing…_

 _Pinamon nodded energetically. "You can bet on it! Keep your Digivice with you at all times, so that I will be able to get the energy I need to evolve from it."_

 _Hesitatingly, Kiki took her newly found Digivice and looked at it for a few moments as a faint light came from its screen. "What you're telling me is pretty worrying, Pinamon. I'm not sure if I will be a good partner to you…" she began, but after thinking about it for a few moments, she decided that it wouldn't do to hesitate. "But I will do my best! Rest assured, that I will do all I can to stop this threat you're talking about… actually, let's put it this way, we'll stop this threat together! How about it? I am willing to be not just your partner, but also your friend, if you wish!"_

" _That would be great!" Pinamon exclaimed. "I'm glad I got to meet you… er… I don't think I got your name, actually!"_

" _My name is Kiki! Kiki Miyazaki! Pleased to meet you, Pinamon!" Kiki answered happily._

* * *

 _A few days later…_

" _Was… this what you were talking about, Pinamon?" Kiki asked nervously as she and her Digimon paced backwards into a darkened alley, facing a pair of hostile Digimon that were trying to corner them. It was the fateful Christmas where Digimon had begun to pop up all over the world… and Kiki and Pinamon were trying to get away from two small humanoid Digimon that lloked like a cross between an imp and a vampire. Their onion-shaped heads were covered in a black hood with two large eyes – one red and one green – drawn upon it, and only showing their wide, mischievous grins. They had light blue skin with overlarge clawed hands, and a large unblinking eye was placed in the center of each palm, and they were wearing nothing but a pair of tight black pants with matching boots. Three wicked-looking red claws jutted out of the tip of each boot._

" _Yes… these guys are Dracumon, raiders and predators of the Dark Ocean!" Pinamon exclaimed fearfully, as the small vampires began giggling and getting closer, their claws raised and ready to strike. "They must be part of all the Digimon that have crossed over to the Real World!"_

" _Dracumon is a Rookie level Undead Digimon that is known for being mischievous and fearless. Its Undead Fang attack sucks the victim's blood._ "

" _Tehehehehee… are you done running? Can we have some fun now?" one of the Dracumon exclaimed in an high-pitched voice._

" _Pinamon… what should we do now?" Kiki asked, her hand instictively inching towards the Digivice she had at her side. The small Digimon took a deep breath and stood between his human partner and the two Dracumon, who were not impressed by his valliant effort and continued to inch closer._

" _We have no choice but to fight. Hold your Digivice, Kiki! Have faith in yourself… and I'm sure i twill work out!" the strange chick Digimon stated. The pigtailed girl grabbed her Digivice and concentrated a bit on her Digimon… and at the same moment, a bright light erupted from the screen, and engulfed Pinamon as well, enveloping him in a column of white light! The Dracumon gave a fearful screech and backed away a few steps, as the energy of the Digivice flew into Pinamon and began transforming him!_

" _Whoa! What… what's going on?" Kiki exclaimed._

" _Pinamon Digivolve to..."_

 _In front of both the bewildered Kiki and the shocked Dracumon, Pinamon began to transform… and a few seconds later, the light exploded outwards and revealed the Digimon's new form!_

" _Falcomon!"_

 _The owl-like Digimon had materialized in Pinamon's place, and was now staring down the two Dracumon, who were starting to sense things were not going to be as easy as they thought, and started to retreat ever so slightly._

" _Falcomon?" a bewildered Kiki asked._

" _Yep, I am Falcomon, a Rookie Level Bird Digimon and one of the Wind Guardians! My wings might not be well developed, but I run about the craggy mountains at great speed with my powerful Falco Rush!_ _"_

" _And like I said, I'm here to protect you, Kiki! Alright, you two bullies, let's see how you do with someone your own size!" the bird-like Digimon stated as he took a fighting stance and glared at the Dracumon, whose grins quickly turned into disappointed frowns. The vampire-like Digimon stepped back for a short distance, but they refused to back down and tried to advance towards Falcomon._

" _Tch… you aren't going to make any difference!" the first Dracumon exclaimed._

" _Nothing at all!" the second Dracumon answered as both of them rushed in to attack Falcomon. Their fanged mouths opened wide in preparation to clamp down on him, but Falcomon reacted with incredible speed, and caught both the undead Digimon off guard!_

" _You two just don't get it, do you? Fine then…_ _ **Falco Rush!**_ _" Falcomon exclaimed. In a split second, the Bird Digimon rushed towards his enemies and struck them with all his weight and power! Unable to defend against such a blow, the Dracumon were lifted straight off the ground and thrown around in disarray, landing on the hard concrete in a daze as Falcomon elegantly dropped on one knee, spreading his clawed wings!_

" _Uuuugh… we… we got our butts kicked!" one of the Dracumon lamented before fainting._

" _We sure did…" the other one echoed, passing out as well a moment later._

 _Kiki had been looking at Falcomon's quick and easy fight in wide-eyed wonder, almost not daring to believe what had just happened. Those two little monsters looked so dangerous… and yet, Falcomon had defeated them without any issue. "Fa… Falcomon?" she stuttered in disbelief. "That… that was your power?"_

 _Falcomon sighed and turned to his human partner with a smile. "Not just my power, Kiki… you are the one who allowed me to Digivolve to this new level… and this isn't even the best I could potentially do!" he answered. "And you aren't even the only one who has a Digimon partner here in the Real World. Several children around the world have a Digimon partner, and I'm sure they will be needed as well when it comes to repelling the threat looming on both worlds."_

" _Yeah, just like Mimi…" Kiki mused, looking at her Digivice and feeling her confidence grow. "I'm still not sure I understand everything about this situation… but rest assured, I will do my best to help you with it!"_

" _Now that's what I like to hear! I'm sure we will make a great team, Kiki!" Falcomon answered._

* * *

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

"Anyway, that's the gist of it." Kiki finished the narration. "Guess that makes me a Digidestined of sorts just like you guys, huh?"

Mimi giggled at this. "Yeah, I think you could say so." she answered. "Anyway... with what has happened recently with the Digimon emerging all over the world, I think we will soon have to gather in order to discuss what to do."

"Our friend Izzy, the computer whiz of our team, is right now checking things... he will call on us whenever he thinks he can give us important news." Palmon continued. "I'm willing to bet Gennai is super busy in the Digital World trying to figure out what's going on..."

"Gennai? Who is Gennai?" Kiki asked, having never heard that name before.

"You could say that he's our guide and mentor." Gabumon answered. "When we went to the Digital World three years ago, he was the one who helped us along theway and told us everything we needed to know."

"At the moment, he's in the Digital World, trying to understand what's going on." Matt continued. "Anyway, as soon as we get a message, we will gather there and try to work out a plan. I am pretty worried about what's going on, honestly..."

"Yeah, I see what you mean..." Kiki answered, she had heard from Falcomon that having a Digimon partner wasn't all fun and games, but she never imagined she'd get involved in such a dangerous situation all of a sudden. "In any case, if push comes to shove, Falcomon and I will try to help you as much as we can. Mimi told me about Digivolution and what comes with it... and while Falcomon can't go Ultimate, we can at least still try to help."

"Being able to reach Champion level so quickly is impressive enough as it is." Palmon complimented. "Anyway, thanks for your help. Just try not to overdo it, okay?"

Falcomon nodded with convinction. "Alright. We will be careful." he said.

Matt nodded. "That's good, now to see if we..." he started to say, before his cell phone began to ring. "Oh, I think that's the call we were waiting for. Izzy must have discovered something."

"That's great news!" Mimi said as Matt got her cellphone and saw that in fact, it was Izzy calling. "Alright, Kiki... Falcomon... looks like you'll get to meet Izzy and the rest of the gang soon! I'm sure you'll get along with all of them!"

Kiki smiled and nodded, feeling like a great adventure was about to begin for her as well...

* * *

Back at the Kamiya apartment, Tai, Kari and their Digimon partners were discussing what had happened during their world tour. Needless to say, all of them knew that something big was about to happen, and that the Control Spires popping up in the Real World were only the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

"We managed to get rid of all the Control Spires." Tai stated, nervously pacing back and forth in front of a window, and casting a glance at the greying winter sky. "But we are still no closer to understand what's going on. Someone set up all those towers, and I'm afraid this was only a first test to see how it would go. Plus, we have all the attacks from the wild Digimon... and whatever it is that Arukenimon and Mummymon are plotting."

"Yeah, guess we're going to have yet another mystery on our hands…" Gatomon sighed. "Well, let's just take care of things in the order in which they present themselves. We'd end up going crazy if we were to try and handle everything right now."

"I agree…" Tai answered, before his cellphone beeped, distracting him from the matter at hand. With a surprised gesture, the Digidestined of Courage took his cellphone and checked it, seeing that it was a call from Izzy. This was encouraging news, at least. Perhaps, this would mean that he had found out something important regarding Arukennimon and Mummymon. "Hello, Izzy? Yes, Tai here, what's up?"

" _Sorry about the sudden call, Tai, but I believe I have found something important._ " Izzy answered. " _If my hunch is correct, this could be just what we need to even the odds with Arukennimon, Mummymon and whoever they're working for. Can you come to my house as soon as possible?_ "

"Is that so?" Tai answered, smiling in satisfaction. "Well, anything that might help us is welcome at the moment! Alright, Kari and I will arrive soon along with our Digimon!"

" _Good. I will be waiting for you._ " Izzy concluded, before the call ended. Tai closed his cellphone and turned to his little sister and Agumon, who were regarding him with an expectant and hopeful expression.

"We have good news at least! Looks like our computer whiz has found out something interesting at last!" Tai explained. "We need to get there right now. Perhaps these news are just what we need to help us in stopping Arukennimon and Mummymon!"

"Is that so? Now this is good news, Tai!" Agumon exclaimed, clenching a clawed fist in excitement. "Maybe, if we're lucky, we might even discover where your tail ring has disappeared to!"

The catlike Digimon smiled a little. "Well, that would certainly be a great help!" she answered. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's get to it!"

"I'm coming!" Kari answered, getting ready to go out.

* * *

Only half an hour later, the team - both old and new Digidestined - had gathered at Izzy's house in order to receive whatever news the young Digidestined of Knowledge had gotten. When Tai, Agumon, Kari and Gatomon arrived, they could see that everyone, both of the new and old team, was already there, along with a young brown-haired girl that the Digidestined of Courage and Light had never seen before, and who was hanging around Mimi. A strange owl-like Digimon was accompanying the new girl, which caught the Kamiya siblings by surprise.

"Hello, everyone!" Tai greeted, looking around and waving to the rest of his friends. "Kari and I came as soon as we could... is it just me, or do we have someone else here with us?" He said, finally looking at Kiki and Falcomon.

"We do!" Mimi said perking up. "Guys, meet my cousin Kiki and her Digimon partner, Falcomon!"

"Pleased to meet you guys..." Kiki ventured waving at the rest of the Digidestined. "Yes, I am actually Mimi's cousin... Falcomon and I only met recently, and we figured we would try to at least help with... whatever is going on at the moment."

"It's not that we don't appreciate that, but we need to warn you." Matt stated. "The enemies we are facing are very powerful and dangerous. This is not some sort of anime, our lives and those of many people will be at stake. So, make sure you're absolutely sure you can handle this before you jump into it."

"Gee, Matt, you don't have to put it like that, man." Tai said. "Lighten up a bit, will ya?"

"Tai, I'm just saying things as they are." the blond Digidestined of Friendship explained. "I don't think I need to explain to you just how dangerous battling against other Digimon can be."

"We just want to make sure Kiki knows what she's getting into." Gabumon stated.

Kiki cleared her voice and turned to Falcomon, exchanging a nod with him before she answered. "I know... Mimi told me quite a bit about what you guys have had to face before... and I'll admit I'm kinda afraid myself. But... well, Falcomon and I couldn't just stay here and let you guys face all the danger."

"We needed to at least do what we can to help you solve this mystery." Falcomon went on. "I can digivolve to Champion level at least, so I can at least hold my own."

Tai nodded and smiled a little, something he had done less frequently nowadays, what with his worry about the Digimon invasion and the Control Spire business. "In that case, Kiki and Falcomon, welcome to the team!" he stated. "Don't worry, I'm sure you will quickly make friends with everyone here!"

"You bet! The more the merrier, right Veemon?" Davis cheered. The blue dragon nodded and gave a thumbs-up.

"Not only Mimi, we have her cousin coming along as well!" Yolei exclaimed happily. "Bingooo! I feel like nothing can stop us now!"

"I guess... that it wouldn't hurt to have someone else along." Gatomon commented. "I just hope she knows what she's doing... I'm not getting any responsibility if she does something foolish or reckless."

Joe tried to call for everyone's attention. "Anyway... now that we have made all the introductions, I think we should concentrate on the problem at hand." the oldest Digidestined stated. "So, Izzy... what's going on right now?"

Izzy actually smiled at that. "I was just waiting to give you the good news." He answered. "Only a couple hours ago, I received an e-mail from one of our old acquaintances... can you guess who that is?"

Sora's eyes widened in pleased surprise. "You're saying... that it was Gennai who sent that mail?" she asked, remembering their old mentor during their first travel to DigiWorld. "Then... maybe he is telling us that there is a way to stop Arukennimon and Mummymon?"

"Something ever better than that, Sora." Izzy answered with a proud smile. "In fact, Gennai wants to tell us that there is a way to permanently restore our Crests and return our Digimon to the level of power they used to have. In fact, he outright said that they could become even more powerful and even get to the Mega level! Prodigious, is it not?"

"You bet it is! We're finally done with sitting on the sidelines!" Agumon exclaimed, jumping up in happiness! "And we, for one, are not going to miss out on such a chance, right, Tai?"

"Of course we aren't! We can use all the help we can get right now..." Tai commented.

"In that case... I think the best thing to do would be to reach the DigiWorld as soon as we can!" Davis exclaimed with a victorious grin on his face. "We will surely get to know more, and we will get the chance to restore your Crests once and for all!"

"Don´t worry, we are already on the case!" Yolei exclaimed, whipping out her D-3 Digivice as Falcomon cheered happily. "Alright, Izzy, can you open a Digi-Gate from here?"

"No problem at all!" the Digidestined of Knowledge answered, before typing a few lines from his keyboard and sending them to his computer. A moment later, the screen flickered, and a Digi-Gate appeared upon it, which was a cue for Yolei to do her thing.

"Alright! Digiport Open!" she exclaimed. "Digidestined, ready... go!"

With that, she pointed her Digivice at the screen, and the Digiport seemed to glow brighter, its brilliance bathing the whole room. The Digidestinded and their respective Partner Digimon smiled in excitement as they began their latest and most important journey to the Digital World!

A few moments later, the Digidestinded has disappeared from the room... and after several moments in which they felt the world around them had dissolved into a mad kaleidoscope of light and color, it all ended when they landed upright on a steel pavement, some of them stumbling a little before they found their footing. As soon as everyone was safely on the other side, they all took a good look at the place they were in, seeing that they were in some sort of machinery room, filled with computers and strange engines, with several Digimon of all kinds manning them. In front of them, as if he had known all along that they´d show up, stood Gennai, looking just as young as they had seen him back in the real world, and he was raising one hand in a gesture of friendship and greeting.

"It is good to see you, Chosen Children." he greeted them. "I see you have come immediately when I called you. I am glad you did, since the matter is rather important, and we need all the resources we can muster in order to save both worlds."

"That´s good news. We almost had our day ruined when we fought and sent the wild Digimon all around our world back to this world, and we hope things don't get any worse with Arukennimon and Mummymon still causing problems..." Sora said, shuddering as she thought back of the time she was kidnapped by Datamon inside his pyramid four years ago though was grateful that Tai managed to save her and Biyomon. "Well... you said there would be a way to restore our Crests and get our Digimon to reach the highest Digivolutions levels, right?"

"Not to mention the possibility of getting my tail ring back, which would certainly help a lot against Arukennimon and Mummymon." Gatomon answered.

Gennai nodded. "You are right, everyone. There is in fact a way to restore all of your crests even though they were destroyed in the battle with Apocalymon four years ago." he answered. "If you remember, you were told that the Crests still lied within yourselves, and you used that knowledge to power up your Digimon again, and allow them to digivolve and defeat Apocalymon."

"Yeah, we couldn´t ever forget that." Agumon answered with a grin. "So... we have to do something similar, this time around?"

Gennai nodded gently. "Yep, something like that." he answered. "However, the twist is that, this time, you will have to do each of your Crests on your own, only aided by your own Digimon. You will have to look deeply inside of yourselves, and discover within yourselves the qualities that make you all worthy of your Crests. Only then will the power of the Crests be restored and the Crests themselves will be brought back to their former power."

"Well, that doesn´t really sound too hard, does it?" Gomamon asked, perking up. "I know it will be like a walk in the park for good ol´reliable Joe here!"

The bespectacled young man chuckled in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head, not being completely sure whether he deserved Gomamon´s praise.

Gennai then turned his attention towards Ken, remembering that while he may be the bearer of the Crest of Kindness, he wouldn't be able to tap into its true powers even when exhibiting the trait required in order to do so in its current state. "You brought the Crest of Kindness with you as I requested?" he asked of the former Digimon Emperor.

With a nod, Ken placed a hand into one of his pockets and pulled out the Crest of Kindness though the last time he brought it into the Digital World was when he and the others tried to place it back within his former base in order to shut it down though it didn't cause the warp to get better. "Yes, I did…" he replied, though he was confused as to why he was asked to do so when he said that he was going to have the original eight Digidestinded and their respective Digimon go through their trail in order to regain their Crests. "But I have a question, why ask me to bring it anyway?"

"There is a reason why I've asked you to do so" explained Gennai as it was about time that the Crest of Kindness was used for something other than trying to shut down the reactor of an exploding base that was once made for evil purposes. "The Crest's true power can only used if the Crest in question is united with a tag that came with it. So you and Wormmon must undergo your own trial, not only to reunite the Crest of Kindness with its tag but like Tai and the others, you must look deeply inside of yourself, and discover within yourself the quality that makes you worthy of your Crest."

"I understand..." Ken said, taking a wistful look at the Crest. He was still not convinced if he did honestly possess this quality, but he knew he would have to face this problem sooner or later, and come to terms with himself and his actions.

"Now... I believe I have something that one of you would surely recognize." Gennai answered. He reached into his vest and pulled out a ring-shaped jewel engraved with mystical runes, before showing it to the Digidestined, who immediately recognized what it was.

"It's my Tail Ring!" Gatomon exclaimed in shock. "Where... where did ou find it, Gennai? I thought I had lost it in that battle with a Dark Ring controlled Unimon..."

"I managed to retrieve it some time later... but only now was the right occasion to give it back to you." Gennai answered. "And believe me, you are going to need this power as well, if you are to fight against what's poised against us. I am not sure I know the whole story, either..."

"Yeah, we understand that..." Tai answered as Gatomon put her Tail Ring back in place and proudly swung her tail around, enjoying the feeling of her power having returned. "Thank you for what you are doing for us anyway, Gennai."

"Actually, I didn't just want to give you that... I wanted to introduce you to someone who might help your Digimon in trying the harness the power of their Mega forms." Gennai went on, much to the Digidestineds' curiosity. He turned to a corridor close to him and motioned for someone to come, and only a few seconds later, an odd-looking Digimon slowly walked into the command room: it looked like a very old man with shaggy white hair and a beard so thick it almost covered his whole face, wearing nothing but a tattered light brown vest from which a pair of huge feet protruded, and holding a staff ending in a cat's paw.

"I am Jijimon." the new Digimon stated, bowing to the Digidestined. "From now on, I shall be your mentor, teaching you how to harness your power in your Mega forms. I know I may not look like it, but I am a Mega-level Digimon myself."

"Really? That little old guy is a Mega?" Kiki exclaimed in surprise. "I mean, I know that you don't judge a book by its cover and all, but still..."

"You were expecting someone sort of bigger, you mean? I can understand." Falcomon answered with a chuckle. "But believe me... when it comes to us Digimon, size is really the last thing you should look at."

" _Hi, I'm Jijimon, a Mega-level Elder Digimon that has existed ever since the Digital World was created. I may not look like much, but do not underestimate me! Though, I usually limit myself to guiding humans and Digimon through moments of crisis._ _"_

The Digidestined regarded Jijimon with a mixture of wonder and respect, before Davis cleared his voice and introduced himself and the rest of the team. "Well... good to meet you, pal! The name's Davis Motomiya, and these are my pals! Ken Ichijouji, Yolei Inoue, Cody Hida, T.K. Takaishi... or, T.J. as I like to call him..." he chuckled at that, and the young Digidestined of Hope rolled his eyes and gave a short amused laugh at that. "... and Kari Kamiya! Good to see we're pretty famous around here!"

"Well, considering all you guys have done lately, you have earned yourself a nice reputation here in DigiWorld!" Gennai answered to that. "Anyway, I believe Jijimon will be a great help to you as you and your Digimon try to master Mega Level."

"Wow, that sounds really awesome! So we'll be able to go Mega at will?" Veemon exclaimed happily. "I can't wait for that!"

"Will we be able to evolve all the way to Mega as well?" Biyomon asked in hope and worry at the same time.

Jijimon chuckled good-heartedly. "Of course you will. But managing to master that power... that might not be so immediate as you might think." he answered. "That is why I am here, in order to guide you through such a difficult process."

"But… I'm not sure about one thing, Gennai… you said… that Jijimon here will teach us how to harness the power of our Mega forms?" Tai asked.

"That means… that we will be able to reach our Mega forms." Agumon concluded. "But how, without our Tags and Crests?"

"Remember, the power of the Crests is still dormant within all of you." Jijimon reminded them. "Look inside all of you, and discover the qualities that make you worthy of being Digidestined in the first place. That will be your best hope against the threat all of us now face..."

With that said, the old master extended his hand, which was glowing in a gentle golden light… and the older Digidestined, along with their partners, began to be encircled by the same light, causing them to widen their eyes in disbelief as the light began to solidify in several well-known devices.

"Guys… are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Joe exclaimed.

"If… if you mean some kind of strange medallions popping up in front of you… then yes, I'm seeing that alright!" Davis answered.

"Wow… are those the Tags and the Crests? That's pretty cool!" Veemon commented.

A few seconds later, the older Digidestined extended their hands as their old Tags and Crests, restored to their former glory, gently landed in their hands. Tai couldn't believe it… he was sure they had lost this power when they created a barrier around the Digital World to protect it from future threats, not that it really amounted to anything, but now.. here they were, and even more powerful than before!

"Amazing… our Crests and Tags are back!" Matt exclaimed.

"And with this… we can reach our Mega forms as well!" Patamon commented happily. "But… exactly, how are we going to do that? It wasn't easy to get to our Ultimate level either…"

"That's why I will do my best to guide you and make sure you can unleash the ultimate power of your Crests." Jijimon explained. "You should know that…"

Immediately after that, the screens on Gennai's terminals lit up, and the keeper of the Digital World widened his eyes in surprise and horror as he rushed to the nearest screen and took a good look at what was going on. He could not believe it, until he saw what was truly going on...

"Gennai? What's going on?" T.K. asked in alarm.

Gennai shook his head and waited for a few seconds before answering. "Something terrible has happened in the Real World... the Daemon Corps, a group of evil Digimon serving under one of the Seven Great Demon Lords... Daemon, Lord of Wrath!" he said. "I'm afraid your newfound powers will be put to the test earlier than I expected... you need to go back to your world this instant and stop the Daemon Corps, or your town will be in terrible danger!"

"What?" Tai exclaimed in shock. "This is bad... alright, Gennai, we'll return to Tokyo and stop those jerks from messing up the place!"

"What are they looking for in Tokyo?" Palmon asked. "I mean, they must have a reason for attacking our town!"

"That may be true, but for now... that's not what we need to think about!" Patamon answered. "We need to intervene and stop these Daemon Corps from hurting more people!"

Gennai and Jijimon nodded at that. "Yes, young Patamon is right... but be careful, if they are truly led by a Demon Lord... then you might be in for a really dangerous fight." he stated. "Remember what I told you... and have faith in yourselves, each other and your partners! Oh, and by the way... do not let them get a hold of Ken, for any reason! I am beginning to suspect he's the one they are looking for!"

"Me? Why would they want to capture me, of all people?" Ken asked in surprise.

Gennai shook his head. "I am not sure yet. But if what I suspect is true, then we're going to be in for some very dangerous times." he stated.

"Don't worry, Gennai! We aren't letting any of those jerks get their hands on any one of us!" Davis answered.

Tai smiled and nodded with confidence as everyone was getting ready to cross the Digital Gate back to Tokyo. "Of course, Gennai. Don't worry... we can handle this!" he answered promptly, before turning to the rest of the team. "Alright, guys... I have no idea what we're going to face, I'm afraid, but it seems our city is in great danger. We need to go out there and chase those invaders away from Tokyo... or, if worse comes to worse, we must be prepared to destroy them."

Yolei and Cody widened their eyes, shocked at the idea that they might have to actually destroy actual living Digimon, but there was no time to discuss it any further. Jijimon punched a few inputs into one of Gennai's terminals, and the Digital Gate reopened with a buzzing sound.

"Are you sure you can do this, Kiki?" Mimi asked her cousin in a gesture of worry. "I know it's not an easy thing to do... believe me, I've been there, and it really got to me after a while. If you don't want to fight, it's perfectly okay."

Kiki felt quite nervous at the idea of sending Falcomon to fight, but she swallowed her fear and took a deep breath to steady herself. "I... I know, Mimi, but I feel Falcomon and I must do what we can to help. It's not something I can just shrug off as not being my problem... though... I'll admit I am kind of afraid at what we'll be facing..."

"I will do my best to protect you and everyone else, Kiki!" Falcomon answered with a serious nod.

"Then, all I can do right now is bid you good luck. Please be careful... I will try to discover as much as I can about this new threat, as I am sure it did not come alone." Gennai answered. "I believe in you, Digidestined, and I know you will not fail."

"Like hell we won't!" Davis exclaimed confidently. "So, Tai, what say you? We go back to Odaiba and kick some evil Digimon ass!"

"We won't lose!" Veemon exclaimed, with Tai giving his pupil a thumbs-up.

* * *

As the Digidestined emerged on the other side of the Digital Gate and back to the Real World, they saw that things were taking a turn for the worse. Without any apparent warning, the skies above their city had turned dark, and the atmosphere was one of fear and panic - a small army of evil Digimon had shown up out of nowhere and was at the moment wreaking havoc through the streets of Odaiba, consisting mostly of creatures like Goblimon, Vilemon, and Bakemon, terrorizing civilians and spreading chaos in their wake! The streets of Odaiba were crowded with fleeing people and broken debris, as the evil Digimon continued to spread towards other parts of Tokyo, and it was clear that the situation was already getting out of hand!

"Wh... What? Where do all these evil Digimon come from?" Palmon exclaimed in shock. Kiki widened her eyes in a mixture of fear and awe, looking around at the rampaging horde of evil Digimon... and just then, a group of Goblimon, small green-skinned humanoids with spiky orange hair and wielding crude clubs, saw the Digidestined and their Digimon, and charged at them with ear-splitting shrieks of battle rage!

"Be careful, everyone! They're coming!" Matt exclaimed in alarm.

Agumon reacted quickly and shot a fireball from his mouth, aiming at one of the closest Goblimon. " **Pepper Breath!** "

THe small fireball hit the goblin-like Digimon dead center, causing him to desintegrate, and other Digimon stood in front of the small horde to repel them.

" **Diamond Shell!** " Armadillomon exclaimed, as he curled up into a ball and slammed against the closest Goblimon at high speed.

" **Spiral Twister!** " Biyomon chirped as she sent out a spiralling blast of flames at the attackers, deleting one of them on the spot.

Falcomon decided he was not going to be left out of the action anytime soon. " **Falco Rush!** " he screeched, before leaping at the closest Goblimon and striking it head-on with the claws on his wing! The Goblimon groaned as it was dissolved into data, and the team managed to get some breathing room as the green monsters were too frightened by the ease with which their comrades were being dispatched to continue the assault.

"They seem to be retreating!" Joe said with a sigh of relief.

"This is good news, but these were small fry. Defeating them means nothing if we can't stop the real mastermind." Matt answered. "We need to find who's the leader of these evil Digimon, as soon as we can."

"I don't think they will be that hard to track down..." Hawkmon exclaimed as a deafening noise from a crumbling building assaulted his ears. He turned around to see three sinister-looking Digimon hovering over a nearby city block - a black winged demonic-looking skeleton with a staff in his hands; a voluptuous white-haired woman dressed in a form-fitting black leather corset; and a monster that looked like a black, monstrous giant squid with a demonic countenance, sharp fangs and furious red eyes! They were leading the group of evil Digimon, sending them to search several zones and then devastate them.

"Faster! Do it faster, you bunch of slackers!" the huge squid-like monster gurgled. "It must be here somewhere! It must be ours!"

A group of Bakemon, led by a winged Digimon that looked like a Birdramon with jet black feathers, began to assault a part of Odaiba that had been left alone as of then, and Davis and Veemon cringed as they saw the ghost-like Digimon swarming a two-story floor and smashing through thewindows to get in. The black Birdramon perched on the roof and let out a victorious screech that sounded like a series of cackling sounds... and the Digidestined knew they had to intervene, in order not to let the civilians be killed by the evil Digimon.

"What's that? It looks like my Champion form... but it's black all over!" Biyomon stated.

"Whatever it is... I don't think it is up to any good!" Kiki nervously observed.

 _"I am Saberdramon, a Giant Bird Digimon. I am shrouded in black flames and my reckless counterattacks as well as my Mach Saber attack make it hard to approach me."_

As the evil Digimon continued their attack, the Digidestined and their Digimon partners hurried to where the enemies were, hoping to stop them. The Digimon did their best to keep the attackers away, and soon enough, the Chosen Children and their companions had made their way towards a large square in which the three more powerful evil Digimon were standing, giving orders to their minions.

"Hold it right there! What do you think you're doing in our town?" Yolei demanded, drawing the attention of the white-haired devil lady in black leather.

"Oh? What do we have here? I was wondering when you would show up, Chosen Children." the devil maiden asked mockingly in a sultry, dangerously soft voice. "And you've brought a few more guests along, how nice of you."

"Finally, the Digidestined bother to intervene!" the winged black skeleton exclaimed in a raspy voice.

The largest of the three, the squid-like monster, grinned wickedly as he recalled a group of Gesomon that was busy patrolling a nearby waterway. "We are the Daemon Corps, and we are here for the Dark Spore! We know you have it, Digidestined, so hand it over to us, and we will go away without bothering you any more! Heheheheee..."

"Dark Spore? What are they talking about?" Kiki asked in confusion, hoping that the other Digidestined would know about this, but no such luck as everyone looked like they had heard of that thing for the first time. Ken frowned a little, having some suspicions himself, but nonetheless, they were not going to just give those evil Digimon what they wanted without a fight...

 _"I am MarineDevimon, an Ocean Digimon. When I use my Dark Deluge attack, I shoot out poisonous ink."_

 _"I'm LadyDevimon, a Fallen Angel Digimon. My Darkness Wave attack changes my opponent's power into exploding dark energy."_

 _"I'm SkullSatamon, a Ghost Digimon. I seek power and my special Nail Bone attack always crushes whoever gets in my way."_

"We have no idea what this Dark Spore thing is!" Tai answered.

"And even if we did, we'd never give it to you!" Agumon continued. "Come on, guys, we need to chase these guys away from here!"

Veemon cracked his knuckles. "Let's go, Davis! We're going to kick their butts back to the Digital World!"

"Now we're talking my language!" Davis said, taking out his Digivice. Everyone stood ready and activated their Digivices, causing their Digimon to evolve to their next levels.

"Agumon Digivolve to... Greymon!"

"Gabumon Digivolve to... Garurumon!"

"Biyomon Digivolve to... Birdramon!"

"Tentomon Digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon Digivolve to... Togemon!"

"Gomamon Digivolve to... Ikkakumon!"

"Patamon Digivolve to... Angemon!"

"Veemon Digivolve to... ExVeemon!"

"Armadillomon Digivolve to... Ankylomon!"

"Hawkmon Digivolve to... Aquilamon!"

"Wormmon Digivolve to… Stingmon!"

In only a few seconds, the Digimon (with the exception of Gatomon, who was in her Champion form already) had all evolved and were facing down the Daemon Corps, all the while Kiki was watching in awe and diisbelief. "A-amazing!" the young girl commented. "So... this is the power of Digivolution that I've heard about?"

"We can do this too, Kiki!" Falcomon reminded her. "It's simple, hold your Digivice, concentrate, and voila!"

"Try it, Kiki! It's that simple, really!" Mimi told her younger cousin.

Kiki snapped out of her trance and grabbed her Digivice, willing to do everything in her power to help Falcomon and her new friends. "O-okay!" she exclaimed. "Here goes nothing!"

She held her Digivice tightly in her hand and closed her eyes, trying to think of her Digimon partner and nothing else even as the evil Digimon began to close in on them... and a moment later, beams of white light erupted from her Digivice and seeped through her fingers, enveloping Falcomon in a glowing aura as he began to evolve!

"Falcomon Digivolve to..."

In a few seconds, the sphere of light burst, and Falcomon's Champion form showed up - a ferocious looking bird of prey covered in short orange feathers that turned green on the lower half of his body, with blood-red tips on the wings and tail. Metallic armor covered the head, neck and wings of the ferocious birdlike Digimon, with vicious hooked spurs on the wings and a beak armed with short, triangular, razor-sharp teeth. Talons the size of daggers adorned the legs of the creature, and spiky red feathers jutted out of the back of his helmet!

"...Diatrymon!"

 _"I am Diatrymon, an Ancient Bird Digimon. My wings are too short for me to fly, but I can run faster than a car, and my Destruction Roar shatters everything in its wake!"_

"Wow! Will you look at that!" Davis exclaimed, in awe in front of Falcomon's Champion form. "That armored birdie really looks badass! Sure, not as badass as ExVeemon, but it does come close!"

"Thanks for the trust, Davis..." ExVeemon chuckled, before taking a battle stance and beckoning the underlings of the Daemon Corps to come forward. "Now, bring it on, Daemon Corps! We'll show you the power of unity!"

"Foolish dolts. You will regret your confidence." SkullSatamon screeched hatefully. "Destroy those pathetic Digidestined and bring us the Dark Seed!"

With maddened screams of rage and bloodlust, numerous soldiers of the Daemon Corps charged forth, and the DigiDestined's partners quickly went on the attack, trying to grab the advantage on them.

"The time is now, everyone!" Greymon exclaimed. " **Nova Blast!** "

Greymon opened his jaws and shot a large fireball from his mouth, which hit a small group of Goblimon and burned them to ashes!

"No problem! We got this!" ExVeemon continued. " **Vee Laser!** "

ExVeemon struck a pose and fired an X-shaped energy wave from his chest. The blast of energy struck a Bakemon head-on, and the bedsheet ghost let out a mournful wail before being desintegrated in motes of light and strings of data. All the Digimon were now fighting as hard as they could, cutting down the Daemon Corps as they tried to close in on them... but the enemies' numbers were clearly superior, and the Digidestined knew they needed a better plan.

" **Meteor Wing!** " Birdramon shouted as she bombarded the Daemon Corps Digimon with several blast of burning energy from her wings. The attack struck down a couple Vilemon and caused the rest to scatter, easy prey to Aquilamon's Blast Rings and Kabuterimon's Electro Shocker attack... but Sora quickly saw a particularly large and powerful member of the Daemon Corps army detach herself from the bulk of the horde, and fly towards her Digimon partner!

"Birdramon! Be careful!" Sora exclaimed in alarm, just in time before Saberdramon launched herself at her, trying to grab her with her talons! Birdramon turned around, widening her eyes in alarm, and managed to dodge just in time, the black-feathered fiend passing only a few steps beside her. With a quick turn, Saberdramon flew up and bore down upon Birdramon, flapping her wings and sending out a barrage of black flames!

"You're mine! **Mach Shadow!** " the black bird of prey screeched. Birdramon managed to shield herself with her wings, and the blasts of black fire landed on her body and forced her down for a short while, before she was able to regain altitude and try to fight back. "Hah! Not bad! You've managed to take my attack!"

"There's more where that came from!" Birdramon exclaimed, taking the fight to her dark counterpart. Saberdramon dodged with a sudden flap of her wings, but Birdramon quicly turned around and rammed her opponent with the whole weight of her body, sending the surprised Giant Bird Digimon hurtling down towards the concrete. Saberdramon flapped her wings again and flew up in an attempt to close the distance once again... or at least, that's how it looked like, until Saberdramon stopped in midair and fired her attack again!

" **Mach Shadow!** " the dark bird screeched, firing several blasts of black fire from her wings.

" **Meteor Wing!** " Birdramon reacted swiftly and fired her own attack, intercepting Saberdramon's Mach Shadow in a tremendous series of midair explosions that temporarily dazzled the two Bird Digimon. Birdramon managed to fly up and check whether Sora was alright, and much to her relief, she saw the Digidestined of Love standing at a safe distance. "Sora! This one is tougher than I thought! We need to deal with this Digimon before we can go help the others!"

"I know, Birdramon! Please do your best! I will support you!" Sora answered. The other Digimon of the team were fighting to hold off the rest of the Daemon Corps, while the three leaders hung back and watched, seemingly taking the measure of the Chosen Children Digimon's fighting skills.

"Joe, be careful! **Harpoon Torpedo!** " Ikkakumon exclaimed, firing his horn like a missile as a Raremon, an hideous slimy Digimon that seemed to be made of toxic sludge, emerged from the water close to the glasses-wearing Digidestined of Reliability. Joe turned with a scared yelp jyst in time to see the toxic Digimon looming upon him… and right then, the Harpoon Torpedo found its mark, blasting the Raremon into strings of harmless junk data.

"Whoa! Man, that was really too close for confort!" Joe commented as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Ikkakumon, I owe you one!"

"No problem, Joe!" the walrus-like Digimon commented with a wink, only to grit his teeth in pain as he was struck in the side by a squirt of acidic ink sprayed by a Gesomon. Ikkakumon quickly turned to face the squid-like Digimon, but Stingmon was faster.

" **Spiking Strike!** " the insectoid Digimon extended a pink laser blade from his right forearm and slashed at the Gesomon, slicing it neatly in half. Nearby, Togemon used his Needle Spray attack to take out a group of enemy Gazimon, while Ankylomon was fighting a Tyrannomon, swinging at the taller dinosaur Digimon with his mace-like tail.

An hideous Roachmon, a Digimon similar to the bipedal cockroach with a skull motif drawn upon its wings, was fighting against Gatomon... who, despite the size difference, was proving more than able to keep up with her opponent. With a quick dodge, the cat-like Digimon evaded a vicious claw slash from the Roachmon and countered with her own attack.

" **Lightning Paw!** " Gatomon exclaimed, before delivering a powerful blow to the attacking Roachmon, knocking it out.

"Way to go, everyone! We're taking 'em down like chumps!" Davis cheered, seeing that the team was holding their own against the menaces from the Digital World.

"I... I think we've got a good chance of winning this!" Kiki exclaimed cheerfully, as Diatrymon sprinted through the battlefield, and delivered a punishing kick to a Vilemon that had imprudently stepped out of the horde. The cruel little demon screeched hatefully as it sailed through the air and landed in the midst on its peers, causing the mob of Vilemon to disperse with a series of high-pitched screams.

"Yes we do! Watch this, Kiki!" Diatrymon screeched. " **Destruction Roar! YAAAAAAH!** "

The flightless bird Digimon opened his beak and unleash a barrage of sonic waves in the form of a series of concentric reddish rings that struck a group of Goblimon and a Shellmon standing in front of him, and deleted most of them while forcing the others to retreat. However, many of the Digidestined knew that this couldn't be the extent of the power of the Daemon Corps, and they would soon need to step up their game in order to fight against SkullSatamon, LadyDevimon and MarineDevimon.

"Hmm... I must say, these ones might actually be entertaining, what do you say?" LadyDevimon asked her fellow commanders, licking her long fingernails in anticipation. "What do you say, shall we step up our game?"

"Why not, I get bored standing on the sidelines anyway!" SkullSatamon cackled nastily. He raised his staff and called out to Saberdramon, who was fighting Birdramon to a standstill. The two bird-like Digimon were exchanging blows in midair, but neither of themhad actually been able to score a telling blow against the other. Both were too skilled to allow their opponent to do so. "Saberdramon! Enough playing around! It's time to show these ridiculous little humans the true power of the Daemon Corps!"

Saberdramon began laughing and a dark purplish glow soon enveloped her entire body, to the Digidestinded and their respective Partner Digimon, that could mean only one thing… "It couldn't be…" muttered Birdramon in complete shock, realizing the evil Giant Bird was preparing to digivolve into a much more powerful form from which they have yet to see until now. "Be ready, she's going to become stronger than she was before."

"Just what we didn't need…Not-Birdramon becoming stronger!" Davis exclaimed in chagrin, watching the enemy Digimon covered in a horrific dark aura and emitting a terrifying sound as he changed shape! In a few seconds, the aura subsided, and Saberdramon's new form appeared in front of the Digidestinded and their Partner Digimon, who stood staring in horror at what their opponent had become: it had turned into an enormous bird of prey covered in garishly colored feathers, ranging from purple to green to bright pink all over its body, a long reptilian tail and three long, razor-sharp claws on each wing! Its face had a reptilian feel to it as well, as its red beak was rather short, blunt and armed with short, needle-like teeth, while a pair of horn-like ramifications protected its eyes and extended to the sides of its head. It was about as big as an airplane, dwarfing every other Digimon on the battlefield.

With a single flap of her wings, the newly-evolved Saberdramon took flight and laughed in triumph, ready to show off her newfound powers to her enemies!

"Heheheheheee… so, what do you think?" the bird-like creature laughed with her eyes towards Birdramon specifically. "Saberdramon is no more. The one standing in front of your eyes right now is… Ornismon!"

"This is really bad…" Yolei murmured, her eyes wide in horror as the newly-evolved bird Digimon slowly began to advance on them, relishing the fear and horror her presence was evoking.

"Bad? Oh no, believe me , you haven't even begun to see what bad looks like!" she screeched. "And I will be more than happy to show you what I mean by that!"

Ornismon lunged forward, casting an ominous shadow over the entire team, though Birdramon grit her teeth and decided to try the impossible even though there was a huge power gap between the two of them. "Don't think we're just going to sit here and take it!" the firey bird exclaimed. " **Meteor Wing!** "

Birdramon flapped her wings again and launched a barrage of flaming blasts at the immense Ancient Bird Digimon, but just as she and Sora feared, Ornismon simply stood there and took the hit without even showing discomfort. The Meteor Wing attack had had absolutely no effect on her.

"That Meteor Wing attack of yours would have worked on me before I digivolved." Ornismon stated with an evil laugh. "Now, let me show you how much stronger I am… **Cosmic Ray!** "

The monstrous Ornismon opened her massive wings and fired a dazzling blast of multicolored energy, which Birdramon was only able to avoid by swerving to the side at the very last moment. The destructive laser proceeded and struck the concrete, drilling a huge smoldering hole through it, and deleting several Daemon Corps soldiers standing right there, not that the three commanders cared about any of that.

"Guys, we may have a problem…" informed Izzy, checking the Digimon Analyzer on his laptop computer to find out more about the new opponent that they were now pitted against and to his dismay, he turned his attention towards the rest of the Digidestinded with a look of concern on his face. "Saberdramon bypassed the Ultimate level and warp digivolved straight into the Mega level. She's too strong for Birdramon now!"

 _"You can say that again! I am Ornismon, an Ancient Bird Digimon. I am known as the Ruler of the Skies, and my Cosmic Ray attack leaves no survivors!"_

"Let's gang up on that overgrown sparrow!" Greymon roared. " **Nova Blast!** "

" **Needle Spray!** " Togemon exclaimed, firing a burst of needles on the massive Ornismon just as Birdramon tried to fly to the evil Digimon's side and unleashed another Meteor Wing attack. Once again, even the combined power of three Champion level Digimon proved insufficient to harm Ornismon, who just laughed off all attacks.

"Hah! How pitiful, do you honestly think you can defeat me just with that?" Ornismon taunted. "Don't make me laugh!" With that, Ornismon swiped with one of her massive wings and delivered a powerful strike to all three Digimon, painfully slamming them to the ground!

"Damn… Are you okay, Greymon?" Tai asked as his Digimon stood up again and shook his head to clear it.

"That's what I feared… we are not strong enough to defeat this Digimon right now…" Tai murmured to himself, before Greymon quickly climbed to his feet and rushed his opponent.

"Hah! Will you look at those little Digidestined running around, foolishly trying to fight Ornismon!" SkullSatamon laughed. "We have already won at this point... we will capture the former Digimon Emperor, and bring the Dark Spore to Lord Daemon!"

"Indeed. We have the situation well under control." MarineDevimon affirmed. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to destroy the other Digidestined before we can claim our prize."

"Oh, that will be no problem at all!" LadyDevimon sneered. "Indeed, I believe it will be pleasurable as well!"

The three Ultimate Digimon laughed and each turned a hateful glance at the Digidestined children, immediately singling out two of them as the ones who could cause them the most trouble especially if their respective Digimon digivolved to their Mega Forms during the battle: the Digidestined of Courage, Tai Kamiya, and the leader of the younger Digidestined, Davis Motomiya. They always had a tendency to turn around even the most desperate situations… which all three evil Digimon knew meant they had to be taken out first. Possibly starting with Tai, since taking him out would have meant breaking the rest of the Digidestined's morale…

"Now, I know you are outmatched. But we are not taking any chances, and we'll make sure you cannot recover from this one." SkullSatamon exclaimed, pointing his gloved finger towards Sora. "Ornismon, slay that girl!"

The newly warp dark digivolved Digimon broke away from Greymon, Birdramon and Togemon, who seemed to be fighting her with all their might despite the odds being against them, and swooped towards Sora, who was now defenseless and could do nothing but stare in horror at the monstrous Ancient Bird Digimon looming over her, her razor-sharp talons aimed at her heart!

"Oh, no! Sora!" Tai exclaimed in horror, diving towards his childhood friend in a desperate attempt to save her from Ornismon's talons! But at that point there wasn't anything he could do… except push Sora out of the way, ending up in the monster's way himself! But he had no doubts about what he had to do… and he was willing to do it so that the girl he loved could live!

He dived down and pushed Sora away from Ornismon … and everything else happened so quickly that the Digidestined could scarcely believe they were actually seeing that! Ornismon kept going, and thrust her talons forward, striking Tai in the chest and impaling him upon one of them! Tai's eyes widened in pain as he felt one of the talons in his flesh… and he spat out a mouthful of blood while collapsing on his knees, mortally injured!

"Sora, I love you…"

The other Digidestined and their Partner Digimon looked on in horror as the leader of the original group collapsed, his friends frozen as if they were locked in place and unable to comprehend what was going on! Tai fell to the ground, a large pool of blood widening from under him, his breath getting ragged and frantic as he tried to hold on to what little life he had left.

"TAI!" Sora's voice broke through the sudden silence, and the Digidestined of Love, closely followed by Matt, Kari and Davis ran to the fallen Digidestined of Courage.

"TAI!" Greymon roared in anguish.

"Tai, no!" Matt exclaimed, getting to his friend and trying to help him as much as he could. But while Matt was not a medic in training like Joe, it was all too obvious that Tai wasn't going to have much longer left. The Digidestined of Courage coughed up some blood and tried to shakily stand up, but his strength was draining away already.

"Tai, hold on! We're going to take you to safety!" Sora exclaimed with tears in her eyes as she tried to move Tai and take him to a place where he would be safer. The rest of the Digidestined had seen what had happened to the Digidestined of Courage and were just as upset as Sora and Matt, but they were unable to intervene before SkullSatamon, LadyDevimon and MarineDevimon attacked them and forced them to scatter.

"This… this is terrible! Tai has been struck down!" Kiki shouted in fear and horror as she watched the Digidestined of Courage struggle to stay conscious. "What… what can we do? We have to save him!"

"Oh, no! This is bad… we must try and reach Tai somehow!" Joe exclaimed as Ikkakumon and Kabuterimon were pinned down by MarineDevimon. With a single blow from his tentacles, the deep sea monster sent both Champion Digimon flying and laughed sadistically at their efforts to get back in the fight.

"Hahahahaaa! You should have given us the Dark Spore when you still had a chance to!" MarineDevimon laughed. "Now your deaths are going to be all the more painful for that!"

"Let me show you an example of that!" SkullSatamon continued, cackling in cruel joy. " **Nail Bone!** "

With that, the staff he was holding charged up and unleashed a blast of electricity that struck Garurumon and Diatrymon, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. The two Digimon tried to stand up again, but the attack had done something to them, and they soon found themselves unable to move.

"Diatrymon? What's going on?" a distraught Kiki asked, just as Togemon and Ankylomon were swapped aside by a tremendous blow from LadyDevimon. She grit her teeth as she saw her cousin grit her teeth and try to help Togemon up, and she could see that her friends and their Digimon seemed to be more reckless and desperate right after Tai had been injured by Ornismon. The colossal birdlike Digimon was still running rings around the battlefield, keeping Birdramon under pressure.

"This is bad… I can't move!" Diatrymon screeched. "I feel like I'm being encased in a block of ice!"

SkullSatamon laughed nastily. "Hahahahaaa! That's all thanks to my Nail Bone attack!" he answered with cruel glee. "

With a maniacal grin, the white-haired demon lady swept down and reached Yolei, grabbing her by the throat and starting to squeeze. "Yolei!" Ken exclaimed. "What are you doing? Let her go!"

LadyDevimon laughed mockingly. "Ha! You are in no position to order me around! And now…I believe it's time for you to give us what we came here for, or this pathetic human girl gets it!"

"Damn it…" Aquilamon was about to launch his Blast Rings attack at LadyDevimon, but quickly gave up as he saw that there was no way he could attack the Fallen Angel Digimon let alone digivolve without putting his human partner in danger. "You are nothing but a coward, LadyDevimon!"

"Hahahahaaa! A coward, you say?" the white-haired female Digimon answered with a sneer. "Such an insult is nothing but praise to me! Now, just stand where you are, and don't try anything funny!"

The eagle-like Digimon grit his beak and stood back, while Gatomon and Kari grit their teeth in a mixture of panic and anger. Between Tai's condition and their friends getting threatened, they were close to losing their cool.

" **Darkness Wave!** " LadyDevimon shouted, striking Aquilamon with a wave of bats coming from her body. The poor Champion Digimon was hit and thrown around like a rag doll, de-evolving back to Hawkmon, but managed to pick himself up again… but once again, he was unable to fight back not to mention he was barely able to return to his feet due to the huge amount of pain he felt throughout his entire body and started kneeling down on one knee as a result. LadyDevimon held her hostage very tight, not wanting to take any chances from their enemies. "Hah! Such are the pitiful feelings that make you do-gooders weak! One cannot win without being cruel!"

"Ugh… but you… you will kill us anyway, won't you?" Hawkmon muttered, badly injured and knowing he wasn't going to survive another powerful attack.

"Hehehee… like I'm going to tell you that!" LadyDevimon answered. She was about to attack Hawkmon again, grinning as he and the other Digidestinded were afraid of doing something that might forfeit the glasses-wearing girl's life. The hawk-like Bird Digimon closed his eyes and awaited his impending demise.

But one second later, someone intervened before it was too late! Kari bent down and grabbed a large rock from the ground, throwing it at LadyDevimon with all the strength she could muster!The unprepared LadyDevimon was hit, and while the blow from the rock that the brown-haired girl threw failed to harm her, it did force her to loosen her grip on the unconscious Yolei, who fell to the ground. "What? Damn you, stupid girl, how dare you interfere? I'll kill you first!" the demon lady screeched as she launched herself at the now-defenseless Kari, trying to impale her on her claws. Kari widened her eyes in fear and tried to move out of the way, but she wasn't quite fast enough, and a swipe from LadyDevimon's claws caught her in her belly, leaving three nasty looking wounds in their wake!

"KYAAAAAH!" Kari screamed as she fell to the ground, writhing in pain and clutching her bleeding stomach with both hands. Immediately, she felt warm, sticky blood seeping through her finger, and she tried to press harder in order to stanch her wounds.

"Kari!" TK exclaimed in horror, with Davis, Mimi, Ken and their Digimon staring in shock as well.

"Kari, no!" Gatomon exclaimed. Her shock quickly turned to rage, and the feline Digimon rushed at LadyDevimon, trying to strike her with a powerful punch. "You... I will not forgive you for hurting my partner! **Lightning Paw!** "

LadyDevimon flew back a little and backhanded Gatomon, knocking her out of the air and sending her tumbling on the floor next to Kari, who managed to recover some of her wits and stared at her Digimon partner falling near her. "N-no... Gatomon..." Kari managed to utter, her hands still pressed against the gashes in her abdomen.

"D-dammit..." Gatomon murmured. "Even with my tail ring, I'm no match for this witch..."

"Kari! Gatomon!" Davis exclaimed in shock. He quickly rushed to his injured friend and tried to help her, all the while glaring at LadyDevimon in anger. "You monster! You're not getting away with this!"

"This has gone far enough! We need more power if we are to defeat these guys!" ExVeemon exclaimed, placing himself near Kari and Gatomon in order to protect them as TK and Davis tried to give Kari some first aid. Stingmon was next to stand in a fighting position close to ExVeemon, and as LadyDevimon flew up again with an amused grin on her face, the dragon and the humanoid insect turned to each other and nodded.

"We need Paildramon for this! We must take down LadyDevimon and go help both Tai and Kari!" Ken exclaimed in a worried but determined tone. Davis nodded as he brought up his own Digivice, and the two boys quickly activated them, and raised them to the darkened skies as ExVeemon and Stingmon began to glow and turned into a pair of trails of energy!

"ExVeemon!"

"Stingmon!"

"DNA Digivolve to... PAILDRAMON!"

The two miniature comets flew closer and closer to each other, until they came in contact and merged together in a blinding flash! The two Champion-level Digimon disappeared into a blast of light, and in their place appeared a large bipedal dragon that looked like a powered up version of ExVeemon, wearing a black helmet with a red faceplate and sporting two pairs of small batlike wings unfurling from his back, his chest, arms and upper legs covered in thick black armor. Two large cannons were hoisted to his hips, and both his arms ended in long, vicious-looking claws.

"Hah! So you merged and went Ultimate. Big deal. You are still too weak to defeat me!" LadyDevimon exclaimed, before doing an elegant turn and launching another swarm of screeching, biting bats. " **Darkness Wave!** "

However, Paildramon was not going to take that laying down. "You gloat too much, LadyDevimon, you know that? **Desperado Blaster!** " the dragon-insect hybrid exclaimed, before firing an hail of bullets from his cannons, like a pair of machine guns. The attack intercepted the Darkness Wave before it could reach Paildramon, and the bats screeched as they were shot down and dispersed, just before the Ultimate dragon-like Digimon shot up and dove down on LadyDevimon. Unprepared for the attack, LadyDevimon finally dropped her guard and was struck head-on, being sent to the ground with a grunt of pain and outrage.

"Yeah! We got her now!" Davis exclaimed, his confidence shining through once again. "Come on, Ken! Paildramon! We need to take her down as soon as we can! Quickly! Tai won't have much time!"

"We can take care of that!" Paildramon roared just as LadyDevimon flew back in a guard position. The devil woman shook her head and combed her long white hair back, looking quite annoyed at having been hit...

* * *

" **Harpoon Torpedo!** " Ikkakumon roared, firing his horn which disassembled into a missile that managed to hit MarineDevimon, but he did very little damage, and mostly only managed to annoy the demonic Sea Animal even more. "You will not harm our human partners as long as we are around, vile creature!"

"That's not for long then, fool! **Dark Deluge!** " the monstrous MarineDevimon sneered, before unleashing a discharge of venomous ink from its mouth, hitting Ikkakumon and forcing him down to the ground! "You see? You have no hope of opposing us! Lord Daemon has made us into the greatest fighting force in the Dark Ocean!"

SkullSatamon swatted aside Togemon with his staff and cackled nastily. "And now you will give us your friend, the former Digimon Emperor! Or we will break you all and take him by force!"

"Ugh... you will never do such thing!" Togemon grunted, standing up and unleashing a barrage of piercing needles against the demonic undead monster. " **Needle Spray!** "

"Hah! Was that supposed to hurt?" SkullSatamon sneered as the needles broke on his body without harming him at all. "You are just delaying your inevitable defeat!"

"I'm afraid he's right... we need to find a way to turn things around!" Mimi exclaimed, and then winced in horror as she saw Ornismon force Birdramon to the ground, obviously toying with such an inferior opponent. "But what can we do? They're far too strong for our Digimon!"

"There must be... there must be a way to defeat these guys!" Kiki exclaimed as she tried to help the frozen Diatrymon move again. "We must go help Tai and Kari at least, before it's too late!"

"How truly pathetic. You are just wasting our time and prolonging your suffering." Ornismon taunted as Birdramon tried another desperate attack. Ornismon easily swayed Birdramon's blow with a flick of her mighty wings, then fought back with a tremendous blow from both her wings that sent Sora's Digimon partner hurtling into a nearby building, smashing it to rubble with a tremendous sound of crushed concrete! Birdramon groaned in pain and fell helplessly to the ground, reverting to her base form of Biyomon a moment later.

"Biyomon!" a distraught Sora exclaimed even as she tended to the gravely injured Tai.

"Sora... I'm sorry..." Biyomon murmured as she tried to get up, only to find herself facing the mighty Ornismon bearing down upon her, one of her talons raised and ready to end Biyomon's life...

" **Howling Blaster!** " Garurumon roared, spewing high-temperatured blue flames from his mouth that managed to hit Ornismon just as she was about to finish Biyomon off, but he did very little damage, and mostly only managed to annoy the Ancient Bird even more.

"How irritating! Get out of the way, small fry!" Ornismon exclaimed, and she swatted the huge wolf aside with a single flap of her mighty wings, causing Garurumon to fall to the concrete and skid away for several meters. However, this did give Biyomon the time she needed. The pink bird-like Digimon managed to regain her bearings and retreated from the battlefield, rejoining Sora as the rest of the Digidestined still desperately held on in their battle with the Daemon Corps.

"Hah! Don't tell me you're actually going to try and stop us like that?" SkullSatamon sneered. "You do not have a prayer! We'll destroy you all and pry the Dark Spore from your friend, the Digidestined of Kindness! All in the name of Lord Daemon!"

"That is never going to happen, fiendish creature." Angemon sternly warned, grabbing his staff with both hands as he prepared to fight against the powerful demon. "We will protect these children with every ounce of our strength."

"Hahahahaaa! Perhaps so, but who's going to protect you?" SkullSatamon cackled evilly. " **Nail Bone!** "

Angemon's eyes widened in alarm behind his helmet, but the celestial Digimon was able to dodge the electric discharge at the last possible moment, and the Nail Bone went past him and struck a Waspmon buzzing behind him, deleting the insectoid Digimon. SkullSatamon tried toaim another Nail Bone, but Angemon managed to react faster.

" **Hand of Fate!** " Angemon exclaimed, before unleashing a powerful blast of golden energy from his enclosed right fist. SkullSatamon was caught unaware and was hit in its ribcage, staggering him and causing him to actually grunt in pain!

"What are you fiends planning?" Angemon demanded to know. "What does your lord Daemon have to do with the Digidestined of Kindness? In any event, know that we won't allow you to get your hands on him!"

"Allow us?" an annoyed SkullSatamon croaked. "You are in no position to allow anything, fool! Two of yours are already not long for this world, and you'll be joining them soon after!"

"Even so... we're not giving up hope!" Angemon fired back, as the two Digimon's staffs clashed in midair, but SkullSatamon's attack seemed way more powerful...

* * *

"Please, Tai, stay with me…" Sora cried, holding Tai as he was trying to hold on, even though it was clear that he didn't have much left. "Please… I… don't want to lose you…"

"Sora…" Biyomon murmured, reaching her partner and her childhood friend. Sora hugged Biyomon while still trying to help her childhood friend, who was fading fast…

"Come on, Tai, don't take this laying down!" Greymon exclaimed, even though he felt his power already fading.

"Don't… worry about me, Sora…" the Digidestined of Courage murmured, feeling himself becoming weaker within moments. "I… had to protect you guys… and you… most of all…"

"But… but that doesn't mean you have to die, Stupid Tai!" Sora exclaimed, tears of anger and despair flowing freely from her eyes. "You… you are my best friend, and… and… you're special to me… and if you died… I could never live with myself!"

"Sora…?" Matt murmured to himself, remembering the moment when they had met before his concert. She had given him those cookies, and yet… there was something that didn't add up about her behavior. She seemed to be lost in thought, like she wasn't really convinced of what she was doing… And now, he was beginning to understand why…

"S-Sora…" Tai murmured, coughing a little. "It's okay… You don't have to… lie to me… I know you like Matt… and if he makes you happy… I'll step aside! I just hope… he can love you as much as I do…"

"Tai… I… I don't know what to say…" Matt murmured, shocked and surprised at this reveal. He didn't know that his best friend was in love with Sora, and now he was feeling like he had somehow stolen her from him… he wished there was a chance to talk to him about it, and now there was no more time…

Sora wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "Tai… I'm sorry about that… but I'm not lying when I say this…" she murmured. "I… wanted to bid Matt good luck for his concert and for the rest of his career… but… even though Matt is a great friend and I care about him a great deal too… I'm not in love with him, not that way… About the cookies… I… I'm not sure what I was thinking, really… I guess… I was tired of waiting around… and… oh, God, Tai, I'm sorry that I lied to you and Matt… but I'm going to be honest with my feelings from now on! Tai… I love you!"

With that, Sora leaned in and kissed Tai, with Matt giving her a silent nod of approval. Tai widened his eyes in surprise and shock, but quickly returned the kiss, thinking he might as well spend the last moments of his life like that…

But as he was getting ready to take his last breath, something unexpected happened… there was a bright red flash coming from Sora's Crest of Love, and Biyomon, who seemed to be exhausted just a second earlier, felt herself charged with energy all of a sudden! The pink birdlike Digimon looked at Sora in surprise, wondering what was happening… and Sora's dormant Digivice began glowing in light, emitting more power than it ever had before!

"WHAT?" MarineDevimon roared in surprise and outrage. "What is the meaning of this? What is this trickery?"

"The Crest of Love is glowing again!" Izzy exclaimed in shock. "How is that possible? I thought our crest had lost much of their power… but apparently I was mistaken!"

"I can feel it… I feel Sora's Love stronger than ever!" Biyomon chirped. "I feel that I could Digivolve any second now…"

"Biyomon... Warp Digivolve to..."

There was a bright flash, and Biyomon was engulfed in a pillar of red energy, which lit up the whole area and caused MarineDevimon, LadyDevimon, SkullSatamon, and Ornismon to roar in anger and horror, while Biyomon began evolving, rapidly going through the Birdramon and Garudamon forms before transforming into a whole new form! She now looked like a gigantic, magnificent bird of prey with golden feathers and several pairs of wings beating in perfect harmony, with an iron helmet on her head, a mane of short red feathers, two great talons ending in razor-sharp claws, and three red tentacle-like tails. She spread her many wings and let out a piercing battle cry, while at the same time declaring her name inside of a gigantic crimson blast!

"PHOENIXMON!"

* * *

As Paildramon was facing off against LadyDevimon, actually managing to hold his own against the devil maiden, Gatomon, TK and Davis were still tending to Kari, who was still laying on the ground. The bleeding from the claw slash in her belly had stopped for the moment, but Kari was still in too much shock and pain to stand up.

"How are you doing, Kari? Stay strong... we're all going to get out of this alive!" TK tried to reassure her, holding her hand as she squeezed in an attempt to encourage herself. The Digidestined of Light was breathing heavily, trying to hold it together in spite of the pain and the anguish.

"Tai... my brother... how is he doing?" she murmured, before gritting her teeth, the gash in her abdomen flaring up with pain once again. "Uuuugh... we... we must... go help him..."

"Stay down, Kari! Don't strain yourself!" Gatomon exclaimed, having picked herself up and rushed to her injured partner's side. As Kari turned to take a look at Gatomon, her Digivice began glowing faintly... and soon enough, it became bathed in a blinding white light, which caught all of them off guard, except Gatomon who remained serious and stoic as she extended her hand towards her partner's Digivice.

The Crest of Light began glowing, radiating a dazzling golden light that spread quickly around Kari's wounded form, and her D-3 began to change form in front of Gatomon's eyes. The Digivice transformed into a slightly larger form, being mostly white and grey with some bright pink highlights, and a large square screen on a black background as well as a black antenna placed on the upper left side. The words "Digimon Link System" were written above the screen which was glowing in the same radiance as the Crest of Light!

"What... what's going on now?" TK asked as he stared at Kari's glowing Digivice and Crest. Gatomon's tail ring shone as well, and the cat-like Digimon was quickly enveloped in a gently glowing pink aura, and began to change! "Gatomon... she's Digivolving!"

"The power of Light..." Kari mouthed, her voice sounding like it came from somewhere else, just like when she was possessed by a mysterious entity back during their first journey through the Digital World! With a loud yell, Gatomon flew up and began to change!

"Gatomon... Warp Digivolve to..."

In a bright flash, Gatomon disappeared and turned into a new, awe-inspiring new form: a tall, statuesque woman covered in bright, complex-looking green armor that protected her chest, arms and lower torso, only leaving her stomach slightly exposed, with large wheel-like shoulder pauldrons as well as a green helmet that hid the upper part of her face. Several pairs of golden wings sprouted from her back, and underneath her armor, a pure white dress could be seen reaching all the way to her ankles. She was also wearing a pair of green shoes, and in her right hand she was holding a thin, elaborately forged lance, while a round shield was mounted on her left forearm. She turned around, a whirlwind of golden feathers encompassing her body, and pointed her lance at LadyDevimon, exclaiming her name in a loud, commanding voice!

"OPHANIMON!"

 _"I am Ophanimon, and I am an Angel Digimon of the Vaccine type and Mega Level. I use the Eden's Javelin and Sefirot Crystal attacks to banish all evil!"_

LadyDevimon widened her eyes in surprise and anger, and she stepped away from Paildramon to fly backwards. "What? What is the meaning of this?" she screeched furiously. "I was not told that the Chosen Children's Digimon could Digivolve to Mega like this!"

"Gatomon... just Digivolved all the way to Mega?" Kari murmured, the burning pain in her belly decreasing a bit. "That's... so beautiful!"

"Looks like... we have a new ally! LadyDevimon is about to be placed to the cleaners big time!" Paildramon roared in triumph.

* * *

"What's going on here?" Matt exclaimed, seeing that Gatomon's body was beginning to glow brightly, being surrounded by a familiar bright pink light that shone from her newly returned tail ring. "Looks like Gatomon has Digivolved too!"

"WHAT? This.. this was not part of the plan!" Ornismon screeched indignantly. Now she could see that Phoenixmon was a match for her, and she was worried about her chances.

MarineDevimon, SkullSatamon and LadyDevimon were taken completely off guard by the unexpected appearance of Phoenixmon, who was now hovering over Infinity Mountain, her many wings flapping noisily and emitting gouts of flame with every movement. The Digidestined, especially Sora and the fast-fading Tai, were incredulous as well... But Phoenixmon did not seem to be shocked, but rather just proud of Sora for having allowed her to reach this new form.

"How?" Ornismon demanded. "What is the meaning of this? No Digimon other than Agumon, Gabumon, Wormmon and Veemon should have been able to reach their Mega form! This must be some sort of mistake!"

"It was your mistake to harm these children. Especially one of my partner's dearest and most beloved friends." Phoenixmon roared. "Now, Ornismon, let us see how you fare when the tables are turned on you!"

 _"I am Phoenixmon, a Mega-level Holy Beast Digimon that presides over all Holy species Digimon. My Starlight Explosion burns all evil to ashes, and my Holy Rings give me incredible power!"_

"Awesome! Go for it, Phoenixmon!" Kiki cheered, even as she tended to the paralyzed Diatrymon.

"S-Sora?" Tai murmured, even as he felt weaker by the moment. "That's... Biyomon? She... just evolved to her Mega form?"

Sora nodded, still amazed by what had happened. "Yeah... That's right... but how did she do that? I... I thought I could only have her reach the Ultimate level, so... How did this happen?"

Phoenixmon roosted herself near the Digidestinded children, her claws digging deep in the ground, and smiled gently at her human partner. "I think I already told you once, Sora. There is so much love within you." She answered, causing Sora's eyes to tear up a little.

"Well, well, what do we have here!" the demon lady snarled. "So you two managed to digivolve to your Mega forms, big deal. We can still defeat you with ease."

"I don't think so!" Phoenixmon exclaimed, just as Yolei was beginning to come to. The glasses-wearing girl, rubbing her head, turned to the battle and saw Kari lying on the ground, being tended to by TK, Ken and Davis, and Ophanimon taking flight in order to face LadyDevimon.

"K-Kari?" Yolei murmured, before she realized what was going on and rushed to Kari's side as well. "Kari, what... what's going on? You've been hurt badly!"

"I... I'll be okay, Yolei!" Kari murmured with a strained smile at her friend. "It's going to be okay... Ophanimon and Phoenixmon are going to see to it!"

"They evolved all theway to Mega when it seemed everything was lost." Ken stated, just as Phoenixmon launched herself at Ornismon and slammed against the Ancient Bird Pokemon with all of her might! This time, Ornismon could not defended herself and was sent backwards, screeching in pain and anger just as Phoenixmon continued her assault, beating back Ornismon with her mighty wings. The evil Mega was dazzled and stunned for a few moment, and Phoenixmon took advantage of that moment to turn to Sora and the dying Tai in order to help them...

"As the phoenix is reborn from her ashes, so I will make sure the Digidestined of Courage rises from his condition." Phoenixmon declared. " **Crimson Flame!** "

The legendary bird spread her mighty wings and unleashes a blast of deep red flames from her body, which quickly expanded and washed over Tai, who was too weakened to do anything about it... but he was not burned by the flames, rather they just seemed to seep through his skin and enter his body, causing him to glow the same holy-looking golden color that radiated from Phoenixmon's plumage. A split second later, the wound in Tai's chest, which was almost certainly going to be fatal under any other circumstance, began to close up and heal at an astonishing rate, and Tai's strength rapidly came back to his body as the holy flames took their effect. Before Tai could even understand what was going on, he was completely healed, not even bearing a scar on the place where he had been struck!

"Uuuuh... man, I feel kinda weird..." Tai murmured, shaking his head and fingering the point where the wound had been. "What... what happened? Did Phoenixmon... heal me with her power?"

"TAI!" Sora exclaimed in joy and relief, just before she threw herself at her childhood friend and began hugging him for all she was worth, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Stupid Tai, you really had me worried! Never do that again, you hear me? Yes... yes, it was Phoenixmon who healed you!" She turned to Phoenixmon and smiled brightly in gratitude. "Thank you so much, Phoenixmon! You... you saved Tai's life... I don't know how I will ever thank you enough for that!"

"Thanks a lot, Phoenixmon! I feel like a million bucks again!" the Digidestined of Courage said as he picked himself up, flashing a thumbs-up sign at the Mega form of Biyomon, who smiled gently and nodded at them before turning to Ornismon. The evil Mega was hovering in the air above them, kicking up a huge cloud of dust with the beating of her mighty wings.

"Tch... You have caught me off guard, I will give you that." Ornismon growled furiously. "But if you think you have a chance just because you have Digivolved to your Mega form, you will soon discover that it's not so easy! Prepare to be turned into strings of data!"

"I don't think I will be the one to fall today!" Phoenixmon answered. With a quick dash, both Megas raced towards each other and clashed once, causing a tremendous sound that reverberated like thunder all around, shattering numerous windows and causing the Digidestined to stand back a few steps. Phoenixmon and Ornismon began to furiously attack each other, scratching with their talons, and striking with their wings and their beaks, in an attempt to force the other to the ground! They were forced to separate a few moments later in order to recover their breath... but it was only a momentary respite as both of them dashed towards each other again, and Phoenixmon delivered a tremendous headbutt to Ornismon's chest, sending her evil counterpart back a long distance, and causing her to knock down a building with her size! Screeching madly in rage, Ornismon picked herself up and slashed the air with her wings, sending out a barrage of razor-sharp feathers that sailed through the air and towards Phoenixmon like numerous arrows...

But Phoenixmon was not going to be such an easy prey. She quickly spread her wings, and a large burning aura flared up around her massive body, incinerating the deadly feathers before they could make contact. She then quickly lowered her aura and flew back at Ornismon, trying to grab her with her talons, but the feathered fiend acted quickly, snatched a large piece of concrete from the ground and tossed it at Phoenixmon, who was not fast enough to avoid it this time, and was struck head-on, being forced to lose altitude. However, this only lasted for a couple seconds, and Phoenixmon used her tentacles to snatch a fallen iron bar from the ground.

"Two can play at that game." she screeched. Putting all of her strength in the attack, she tossed the iron bar at Ornismon with enough strength to bludgeon her evil counterpart and cause her to sway for a brief moment. With a piercing war cry, Phoenixmon leapt at Ornismon and began striking her again with her beak, causing the evil Ancient Bird Digimon to stagger backwards, her wings raised in a frantic attempt to keep the firey Mega-level Digimon at bay. Ornismon managed to slip away during a moment where Phoenixmon was charging up, and flew up in an attempt to destroy her counterpart once and for all...

"Don't think I am done! The Daemon Corps will never lose to you pathetic humans!" Ornismon screeched. She then began to charge up once again, her body becoming surrounded in a sparkling white aura, before she opened her wings and fired a solid beam of destructive energy from her beak, aiming straight at Phoenixmon!

" **Cosmic Ray!** "

"Oh no! Be careful, Phoenixmon!" Sora exclaimed, worried for her Digimon partner. Phoenixmon frowned as she realized that she could not afford to underestimate this attack, and wrapped herself in her own wings in order to shield herself from the powerful blast. A moment later, Ornismon's Cosmic Ray struck Phoenixmon head-on and exploded in a large sphere of destructive energy that completely engulfed the firey bird of prey. Sora and Tai widened their eyes in shock and horror... but it soon turned into relief when Phoenixmon emerged from the blast, slightly hurt but still very much capable of putting up a fight against Ornismon, who could do nothing but stare incredulously at Phoenixmon rising above the battlefield and unleashing a barrage of fireballs at her opponent! Ornismon was barely able to shield herself with her wings and avoid taking serious damage from the flames, but she was feeling more and more pressured as the battle kept going, and she knew she could not hope to continue for much longer.

Screeching in rage, Ornismon took to the air once again and flapped her wings in order to unleash another barrage of feathers against the firey phoenix. This time, however, it was less to attack her and more to distract her and buy Ornismon some time to prepare a decisive attack. Phoenixmon slightly opened her wings and expanded a firey aura around himself, once again intercepting the attack, but Ornismon managed to quickly fly around her and tried to attack from what seemed to be a blind spot in Phoenixmon's defense. The evil Ancient Bird Digimon took a sudden turn and flew towards her opponent as soon as she saw her burning aura receding, hoping she would be able to catch her off guard.

Phoenixmon began to turn around in order to repel Ornismon's attack, but the Ancient Bird Digimon was faster than she expected, and Phoenixmon found herself seized by the wings and pushed down to the hard concrete. Ornismon cackled in victory and began pecking at Phoenixmon, holding her fast against the ground, while the firey bird struggled to get free.

"Phoenixmon!" Sora exclaimed.

"This is bad... Phoenixmon is getting overpowered!" Tai commented.

"You should not have defied the Daemon Corps, Digidestined!" Ornismon exclaimed, using his talons to force Phoenixmon to the ground. "We will crush you all and bring the Real World and the Digital World to their knees!"

"You... are wrong!" Phoenixmon fired back, climbing back to her feet and forcing Ornismon off her back with a surprised screech. "We will not allow you to get what you want! We will stop you, no matter what!"

With another push, Phoenixmon knocked Ornismon away and delivered a powerful headbutt to the Ancient Bird Digimon's unprotected chest, cutting off her breath for a split second, which was more than enough for Phoenixmon to charge up and unleash another powerful attack!

" **Starlight Explosion!** " Phoenixmon exclaimed. Her body glowing with power, the phoenix Digimon wrapped her wings around herself, as beams of golden light erupted from her feathers. A moment later, Phoenixmon spread her wings, raised her head and unleashed a tremendous blast of energy that quickly spread around her body and engulfed Ornismon before she could do anything to defend herself! Ornismon widened her eyes in horror and unleashed a deafening screech as her data was eradicated... and when the blinding flash from Phoenixmon's Starlight Explosion faded, the Digidestined and their Digimon could see that Saberdramon's Mega form had dissolved into harmless strings of data!

"That was awesome!" Davis exclaimed. "Way to stick it to that bird-brain!"

"I have to say, I really did not expect that! Sora is really fantastic!" Yolei exclaimed in awe. "Now we can really win!"

But none of them was as happy as Sora, who was looking at the Mega form of Biyomon with pride and joy. Phoenixmon turned to her human partner and bowed her head in a gesture of friendship and understanding, to which Sora answered by gently stroking Phoenixmon's warm golden plumage.

"You did great, Phoenixmon... you've saved us all... especially Tai!" Sora stated. "Thank you so much, Phoenixmon... we would have been lost without you!"

"It was nothing, Sora. I couldn't let Ornismon do what she wanted." Phoenixmon kindly answered. "But we're not out of the woods yet... Our friends are in trouble against the rest of the Daemon Corps!"

"Then let's get back in the battle and wipe those jerks out!" Tai answered.

"Couldn't agree with you more, Tai!" Greymon exclaimed. "But how about we crank up the volume a bit?"

"Greymon is right, let's show the Daemon Corps what we really can do!" Garurumon told Matt. Feeling relieved that his best friend was alive and well, the blond Digidestined of Friendship nodded, smiled and held his Digivice, just as Tai did... and at that moment, the Crests of Courage and Friendship began to glow again, emitting a blast of white light that burst from the screens and struck Greymon and Garurumon, causing them to digivolve once again!

"Greymon Digivolve... METALGREYMON!"

"Garurumon Digivolve... WEREGARURUMON!"

The cyborg dinosaur and the bipedal werewolf appeared in their Champion forms' place and began advancing on the Daemon Corps, wiping out any opponent that tried to stand in their way. A group of Vilemon was obliterated by MetalGreymon's Giga Blaster attack as two shark-shaped missiles burst from the Ultimate Digimon's chest hatch and struck the black imps head-on. A Gesomon and a Roachmon tried to double-team WereGarurumon, only to be sliced to pieces by the Beast Man Digimon's Wolf Claw attack.

"Wow! Have you seen that?" Kiki exclaimed. "They are taking down those Daemon Corps monsters like amateurs!"

Phoenixmon flew up and gathered some more energy, then unleashed another Crimson Flare attack, which spread over the battlefield and reached the Digidestined's partners, healing them from every injury they had taken, and giving them back the strength they needed to fight against the Daemon Corps. Those who had been frozen by SkullSatamon's Nail Bone attack found themselves able to move again, and Diatrymon managed to climb back to his feet and shook his metallic feathers in a gesture of pride and triumph.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Diatrymon exclaimed. "Thank you, Phoenixmon, now we can actually fight back!"

"Let's do this, everyone! Our town and friends are at stake!" Paildramon exclaimed.

SkullSatamon, for his part, was beginning to feel like their victory wasn't assured any more. The Digidestined of Courage, who had been fatally injured just a minute ago, was now back at full strength. Not only that, but there were not one but two Megas with the Chosen Children… yet, he, MarineDevimon and LadyDevimon had come too far to just accept defeat, and they wouldn't give up now. "Hmph… I will admit that your evolutions caught us off guard. We did not expect this at all. But if you think this will stop us, you have another thing coming!" he declared, being more curious and intrigued than intimidated and got ready to make his next move. " **Nail Bone!** "

WereGarurumon dodged the blow and quickly closed in with the demonic skeleton, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick that knocked SkullSatamon out of the air and sent him to crash on the concrete below, while Ophanimon was easily holding LadyDevimon at bay, just waiting for an opening in the devil maiden's defences so that she could fly down and take care of the injured Kari. LadyDevimon was trying to find an opening in Ophanimon's defenses, without any success, and she was getting more and more frustrated by the moment.

" **Darkness Wave!** " LadyDevimon exclaimed, unleashing another screeching swarm of bats that flew towards Ophanimon, but the female angel easily withstood the attack by holding her shield in front of herself, and causing the bats to bounce off of her. "Tch... enough with your games, blondie! You will never be able to defeat me if you do nothing but defend!"

"If you want me to stop defending and go on the offensive, that is not an issue with me." Ophanimon answered calmly. LadyDevimon's arm turned into a lance, and she tried for a piercing thrust to Ophanimon's heart, but Ophanimon easily dodged the attack and answered with a tremendous punch to her opponent's head, stunning her and almost causing her to fall to the ground. As LadyDevimon tried to regain her bearings, Ophanimon flew down to Kari, who was being tended to by Yolei and T.K.

"Kari!" the angel woman exclaimed, kneeling down at her human partner. "You're injured."

"I... I will be okay, Ophanimon!" Kari said with a somewhat pained smile. "I knew you would come through!"

Ophanimon smiled calmly and nodded to her human partner. "It was thanks to you and your powers of Light that I was able to Digivolve." she stated. "But now, do not strain yourself. I will take care of that wound of yours."

With that, Ophanimon gently placed her hand upon Kari's injured stomach, and released a gentle glow from her own palm, which seeped into the girl's body and began healing her. The wounds left by LadyDevimon's claws began to close up at astonishing speed, and a few seconds later, they had completely healed, without even leaving a scar in their wake.

"Kari, your wound... it healed in a few seconds!" T.K. stated, feeling relieved as Kari as able to climb back to her feet. "I'm glad about that... thank you, Ophanimon, you were a lifesaver!"

Kari gave a sigh of relief and nodded at Ophanimon, giving her a smile as she did so. "Yeah... thank you, Ophanimon. I feel that we can really win this one now!" she stated.

"We still aren't out of the woods, anyway." the angel woman said, before turning her glance at LadyDevimon, who was now climbing to her feet and bearing down on her. "I still have to deal with that witch. You stay safe, and wait for us to finish."

"Don't make light of me, blondie!" LadyDevimon screeched in fury as she extended a clawed hand towards Ophanimon's throat. The Mega-level Angel Digimon dodged with almost insulting ease and countered by slamming her shield in LadyDevimon's midsection, staggering the devil maiden and causing her to almost drop to her knees as Kari and the rest of the Digidestined put themselves at a safe distance. Then, Ophanimon closed in and delivered a powerful kick to LadyDevimon's head, sending her sprawling to the floor. The dark Digimon managed to pick herself up in time to avoid a thrust from Ophanimon's lance and took to the air once again, but she knew that she was in a bad position, and she had to retreat before things went out of control.

MarineDevimon, for his part, was facing Paildramon, and not doing very well either. The dragon-insect hybrid was avoiding the sea monster's attacks, and as soon as he got a moment of respite, he grabbed his hip-mounted cannons and began to unleash hell on MarineDevimon!

" **Desperado Blaster!** " Paildramon roared. A veritable hailstorm of bullets fell upon the huge sea devil, forcing him back and sending him crashing against the side of the waterway! MarineDevimon roared in rage and pain, and quickly picked himself up, spitting a Dark Deluge attack against Paildramon, but the Ultimate-level DNA Evolution dodged the blast of corrosive ink and retaliated with a tremendous punch to MarineDevimon's jaw, staggering him further!

"GRAAAAAH! C-curse you, Digidestined! Mark my words, you haven't seen the last of us!" MarineDevimon roared, before plunging himself in the deeper water, and disappearing, leaving behind nothing but a huge cloud of pitch black ink in order to cover his retreat. Paildramon gave a sigh of relief, then looked at Davis and Ken, and nodded to the mas Tai's successor grinned and gave Paildramon a thumbs-up. Even LadyDevimon could see that the battle was going unexpectedly poorly, and had no choice but to abandon the battlefield, spinning around herself in a dizzying pirouette, and disappearing in a flurry of black feathers. The few remaining soldiers of the Daemon Corps began to disappear as well, re-entering the Digital Gate they had crossed over from.

"Hmph… you may have won for now… but do not think we will forget about this humiliation!" SkullSatamon grunted, spreading the pitch black wings on his back, before turning around and disappearing into the darkness, leaving Phoenixmon and Ophanimon alone. Finally, the battle was over, and the Daemon Corps had retreated, allowing the Digidestined and their companion to relax.

"They've gone away now… haven't they?" Kiki asked uncertainly.

T.K. nodded."Yes… But that was really too close for confort." He stated. "We are really going to have to unlock the true powers of our Crests like Sora and Kari did, if we want to win against them…"

"And I'm afraid this was only a small taste of their true power…" Cody commented.

"Well... let's worry about it later. Right now, I'm just glad we came out of this in one piece..." Davis said with a sigh of relief. Now that the battle had ended, the Digimon powered down and reverted to their Rookie forms - especially Phoenixmon and Ophanimon returning to their base forms of Biyomon and Salamon. Tai, Kari, Matt and Sora ran to their Digimon to thank them for their help.

"Oh, Biyomon, I'm so proud of you!" Sora exclaimed. "I really didn't know you had it in you… but you saved us all!"

"It was your love that gave me the power to digivolve again, Sora." The pink bird-like Digimon answered gently, to which Sora blushed as she turned to Tai and looked at him in embarrassment, the same expression painted upon her childhood friend's face. They both looked at each other again, with Sora feeling enormously relieved that Tai didn't have to die… and now that she clearly understood what he meant to her, she also knew where her true feelings lay. She was sorry about the fact that it would break Matt's heart to do so… but she couldn't just stay silent and pretend. It wouldn't have been fair on Matt either.

The blond Digidestined of Friendship, for his part, was looking at Tai and Sora, and sighed melancholically. Deep down, he had always suspected that this was how things were going to end up eventually. As he thanked Gabumon for his efforts, Matt decided he would have to talk with Tai and Sora about this matter…

"Matt…" Gabumon said, understanding what his human partner was going through. Matt smiled, a little sadly, and petted Gabumon on the head.

"Its okay, Gabumon." He answered. "And I'm already glad that Tai is alive. It would have been much worse if I lost one of my best friends."

The Digidestined had won a battle, and for now, it seemed that their hometown was safe. But all of them knew this was only the beginning of a much greater battle, and they had no idea that someone else was keeping tabs on them…

* * *

Somewhere, in a darkened room, the figures of a young man in his thirties and a woman about the same age were watching a computer screen, taking in all the data they had gathered… some of which was about the battle with the Daemon Corps that had just ended!

"Well, will you look at that, Hime." The man stated in cautious optimism. "I had no idea those kids could wield that much power. Not everyone can defeat a Mega Digimon like that Ornismon with such ease."

"You know I'd rather not be called Hime, Daigo." The woman answered bitterly. "But still, you're right. We need to keep an eye out on them. They probably have just what we need to complete our project."

The man called Daigo nodded slowly. "Yeah, I understand that much. I hope… you know what you're doing, Maki. You've been working yourself almost to death these last few years, ever since that Myotismon guy appeared in Odaiba."

"Trust me… I've been living for this moment ever since that day." The woman named Maki answered, her voice expressing a hint of pain even as she tried to remain calm and in control. "This could be our only real chance to bring back what we've lost… and I'm not going to waste it!"

Daigo nodded silently, wishing to himself there was another way… but they had come that far, and they were not going to back down right now…

 **TO BE CONTINUED…**

 **A/N: Here is the first chapter of the rewritten version of Destiny of Heroes. I'm praying that I'll be able to do a better job with this than the other two incarnations of the story, and hopefully both LilyNadesico and I not only did a good job on the chapter in general but also on the battle that took place as well. In any case, I'm definitely looking forward to the events to come since I'm sure you already know what I'm talking about.**

 **And before you say anything, Lily and I are going to have Imperialdramon gain the ability to Mode Change to Fighter Mode as before just not the way he did so in canon since it was just a cheap plot device to take away the power that Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon, Gomamon, Patamon, Gatomon, Armadillomon and Hawkmon previously recieved from Azulongmon (even though Agumon somehow got more power from him afterwards following Black WarGreymon finding his way into the Real World), beyond that you'll have to wait and see what happens for now.**

 **Also I can't say that we're happy with how Digimon Adventure Tri came to an end, especially since it left a lot of loose ends and the fact neither Maki nor Alphamon appeared in the final movie (while the 02 Digidestinded were in the final movie, it was just a brief cameo same with Wizardmon, the former four being in some sort of Digital Coma alongside the real Gennai as Daigo revealed to before dying although that doesn't explain Imperialdramon's appearance in the second movie) also made me wonder on many things. That and it's a shame since the series had plenty of potential ever since the first two movies, no offence to those who do like Tri in its entirety.**


End file.
